Which two categories of training involve the use of aversives, force, coercion or physical corrections to modify behavior?

Which two categories of training involve the use of aversives, force, coercion or physical corrections to modify behavior?

• A. Negative reinforcement and extinction
• B. Positive punishment and negative reinforcement
• C. Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement
• D. Variable reinforcement and continuous reinforcement

Answer: (B)

When we look at training categories that rely on using something aversive, coercive, or physically corrective to change behavior, two categories stand out: one adds something unpleasant after the undesired action to reduce it, and the other removes something unpleasant when the desired behavior occurs to increase it. Positive punishment fits here because it involves presenting an aversive after the unwanted behavior to make that behavior less likely to occur in the future. Think of a handler applying an uncomfortable stimulus or force in response to a leash pull; the dog learns to stop pulling to avoid the aversive. Negative reinforcement also uses an aversive in a way that motivates the dog to change behavior, but it does so by removing the aversive once the desired behavior happens. The dog learns that performing the behavior ends the unpleasant stimulus, so the likelihood of that behavior increases. This is still about using an aversive to shape behavior, even though the consequence is relief from the aversive. The other options don’t revolve around aversives or physical corrections. Positive reinforcement relies on rewards to increase behavior, not on adding or removing unpleasant stimuli. Extinction involves withholding reinforcement to reduce a behavior, without using aversives. And reinforcement schedules (variable or continuous) describe how often rewards are given, not whether an aversive is used. So, the two categories that involve aversives or coercive elements to modify behavior are those that add an unpleasant consequence and those that remove it in response to the correct behavior.

When we look at training categories that rely on using something aversive, coercive, or physically corrective to change behavior, two categories stand out: one adds something unpleasant after the undesired action to reduce it, and the other removes something unpleasant when the desired behavior occurs to increase it.

Positive punishment fits here because it involves presenting an aversive after the unwanted behavior to make that behavior less likely to occur in the future. Think of a handler applying an uncomfortable stimulus or force in response to a leash pull; the dog learns to stop pulling to avoid the aversive.

Negative reinforcement also uses an aversive in a way that motivates the dog to change behavior, but it does so by removing the aversive once the desired behavior happens. The dog learns that performing the behavior ends the unpleasant stimulus, so the likelihood of that behavior increases. This is still about using an aversive to shape behavior, even though the consequence is relief from the aversive.

The other options don’t revolve around aversives or physical corrections. Positive reinforcement relies on rewards to increase behavior, not on adding or removing unpleasant stimuli. Extinction involves withholding reinforcement to reduce a behavior, without using aversives. And reinforcement schedules (variable or continuous) describe how often rewards are given, not whether an aversive is used.

So, the two categories that involve aversives or coercive elements to modify behavior are those that add an unpleasant consequence and those that remove it in response to the correct behavior.