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positive reinforcement

1. an increase in the probability of occurrence of some activity because that activity results in the presentation of a stimulus or of some circumstance.

2. the procedure of presenting a positive reinforcer after a response. Compare negative reinforcement.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

cognitive ethology

cognitive ethology

the study of mental experiences, including consciousness and intentionality, in nonhuman animals and of the influence of these experiences on the animals’ behavior as they interact with their natural environment. Whether, and which, animals actually possess consciousness and intentionality remains a subject of controversy. [proposed in 1978 by U.S. zoologist Donald Redfield Griffin (1915–2003)]