What does praising a child for their efforts represent in terms of reinforcement?

Praising a child for their efforts exemplifies positive reinforcement because it involves adding a pleasant stimulus—praise—to increase the likelihood of a desired behavior being repeated in the future. In this case, when a child receives praise after putting in effort, they are more inclined to engage in that behavior again, reinforcing their motivation and encouraging persistence.

Positive reinforcement is a foundational principle in behavior analysis, focusing on encouraging behaviors through rewarding stimuli rather than addressing or removing aversive factors, which would be characteristic of negative reinforcement. The act of providing praise does not involve any type of punishment, as it does not decrease behavior, nor does it relate to extinction, which involves the removal of reinforcers leading to a decrease in the behavior over time. Therefore, the response effectively illustrates the impact of positive reinforcement in reinforcing desirable behaviors.