Operant Conditioning

Pat Miller gave a nice explanation of operant conditioning on the peaceable paws mailing list.

There are 4 principles of operant conditioning:

1. Positive reinforcement (R+) - dog's behavior makes a good thing happen; behavior increases.
2. Positive punishment (P+) - dog's behavior makes a bad thing happen; behavior decreases.
3. Negative punishment (P-) - dog's behavior makes a good thing go away; behavior decreases.
4. Negative reinforcement (R-) - dog's behavior makes a bad thing go away; behavior increases.

Positive trainers use primarily R+, secondarily P-, and try to avoid using P+ and R-.