What does positive reinforcement mean?

• A. Punishing unwanted behavior
• B. Rewarding/acknowledging desired behavior to increase it
• C. Ignoring behavior
• D. Giving the same reward for all actions

Answer: (B)

Positive reinforcement means adding something the student values after a desired behavior occurs, so that the behavior is more likely to happen again. In this item, the best description is rewarding or acknowledging the desired behavior to strengthen it, such as praising a student for raising their hand or giving a token when they complete a task. The other options miss the key idea: punishment aims to decrease behavior, ignoring it doesn’t increase it, and giving the same reward for all actions breaks the link between the specific behavior and a reinforcing outcome.