When a painful or unpleasant stimulus is removed, it is referred to as? a. Punishment b. Escape or avoidance behavior c. Avoidance conditioning d. Negative reinforcement

The correct answer is b. Escape or avoidance behavior.<br /><br />When a painful or unpleasant stimulus is removed, it is referred to as escape or avoidance behavior. This type of behavior is a form of negative reinforcement, where the removal of an aversive stimulus strengthens the behavior that led to its removal.<br /><br />In the context of operant conditioning, negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unpleasant stimulus in order to increase the likelihood of a particular behavior occurring. Escape or avoidance behavior is a common example of negative reinforcement, where an individual learns to perform a certain behavior in order to escape or avoid an unpleasant stimulus.<br /><br />Option a, punishment, is not the correct answer because punishment involves the presentation of an unpleasant stimulus or the removal of a pleasant stimulus in order to decrease the likelihood of a particular behavior occurring.<br /><br />Option c, avoidance conditioning, is not the correct answer because avoidance conditioning refers to the process of learning to avoid a particular stimulus or situation in order to prevent the occurrence of an unpleasant outcome. While escape or avoidance behavior can be a component of avoidance conditioning, the term specifically refers to the behavior of avoiding a stimulus rather than the process of learning to do so.<br /><br />Option d, negative reinforcement, is not the correct answer because negative reinforcement is a broader term that encompasses both escape or avoidance behavior and other forms of reinforcement that involve the removal of an unpleasant stimulus in order to increase the likelihood of a particular behavior occurring.