What Is Positive Reinforcement?

One important type of learning is called operant conditioning, and it relies on a system of
rewards and punishments to influence behavior.
The most basic example of operant conditioning is training a dog, whether to do tricks or to
stop an unwanted behavior like chewing on furniture. Reinforcement of the behavior means
that the goal is to get your subject - whether pet or person - to do more of a desired
behavior.
Positive reinforcement means giving something to the subject when they perform the
desired action so they associate the action with the reward and do it more often. The reward
is a reinforcing stimulus.
Positive reinforcement works because the brain connects the action to the reward, and the
subject will repeat the target action in hopes of being rewarded in the future. Positive
reinforcement is especially effective at establishing new behaviors, but it may not work as
well in the long term if the subject becomes bored with the reward over time.