Field Guide · Glossary
The four quadrants
Learning scienceThe four ways a consequence can change behavior: adding or removing something, to make a behavior more or less likely.
How it works
Positive and negative describe adding and removing, not good and bad, which is the single most common misreading. Reinforcement means the behavior increases; punishment means it decreases. That gives positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment. The quadrants are a description of what consequences do, not a ranking of what should be used: the map says what is possible, and frameworks like the Humane Hierarchy and LIMA say what to reach for first.
What it looks like
A dog jumps up. Turning away removes attention and the jumping decreases, which is negative punishment. Paying four paws on the floor increases standing, which is positive reinforcement. Both happened in the same greeting.
Commonly confused with
- Negative reinforcement
- Negative in this system means something was removed, so negative reinforcement removes something unpleasant and the behavior increases. It is regularly misread as punishment because of the word negative.
Related terms