In operant conditioning, what is a 'reward' generally referred to as?

In operant conditioning, a 'reward' is typically referred to as positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement involves the application of a stimulus following a desired behavior, which increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated in the future. When an organism receives a reward, such as food, praise, or any other positive outcome, it reinforces the behavior that led to that reward, strengthening the association between the behavior and the positive consequence.

This concept is central to understanding how behaviors can be modified and increased through the use of rewards. For example, if a student studies hard and receives praise from a teacher, that praise serves as a positive reinforcement that encourages the student to continue studying in the future.

The other options represent different concepts within operant conditioning. Negative reinforcement also involves increasing the likelihood of a behavior, but it does so by removing an aversive stimulus rather than introducing a reward. Punishment, on the other hand, is intended to decrease the likelihood of a behavior by presenting an unpleasant consequence following that behavior. A conditioned stimulus is a concept from classical conditioning, relating to a previously neutral stimulus that has gained significance through association, rather than an operant conditioning context.