Aren t negative reinforcement and positive punishment really the same thing?
This is probably the most common misunderstanding in the entire field of learning. To understand the distinction, consider the second word in the phrase first. Negative reinforcement is, by definition, REINFORCEMENT! The reinforcement, however, involves the REMOVAL (that s the negative part) of something aversive . Positive punishment is just that–PUNISHMENT, achieved by the ADDITION (that s the positive part) of something aversive. Don t get sidetracked by the positive and negative modifiers. Those only signify whether the reinforcement/punishment involves the addition ( positive ) or the removal ( negative ) of some stimulus.
