What principle states that rewarding a behavior increases its likelihood?

• A. Negative reinforcement
• B. Positive reinforcement
• C. Punishment
• D. Extinction

Answer: (B)

Reinforcement in sport practice uses consequences to shape how often a behavior occurs, and rewarding a behavior makes it more likely to happen again. This approach—giving something desirable after the action—is positive reinforcement. For example, praising a swimmer for clean turns, awarding extra play time after a strong drill, or a small reward after a successful set helps strengthen that behavior moving forward. The other concepts don’t fit as the primary idea here: negative reinforcement also increases behavior but by removing an unpleasant condition rather than adding a reward; punishment aims to decrease behavior by presenting something aversive; extinction occurs when reinforcement stops and the behavior fades away. So rewarding the behavior is best described as positive reinforcement.