In a Skinner Box, a rat presses a bar and receives a food pellet. In this case, the food serves as:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The food pellet serves as positive reinforcement because it is added to increase the likelihood of the rat pressing the bar again. Negative reinforcement would involve removing something unpleasant to increase behavior, such as stopping an electric shock when the rat presses the bar. Operant response refers to the behavior itself, and conditioned response involves a response that has been learned through association with a stimulus (such as salivating at the sound of a bell).

In a Skinner Box, a Rat Presses a Bar and Receives