What is an example of negative punishment?

Negative punishment refers to the removal of a stimulus or a positive reinforcer that leads to a decrease in a specific behavior. In this case, removing a reward to decrease a behavior exemplifies this concept. For instance, if a child is given a treat for cleaning their room and then, after a period of not following through with this behavior, the treat is taken away, the child is less likely to continue the behavior of neglecting their chores. The key aspect of negative punishment is that it involves taking something away, which is intended to reduce the likelihood of the unwanted behavior reoccurring.

The other choices do not align with the definition of negative punishment. Presenting a reward actually aims to increase a behavior, allowing a behavior to happen freely does not involve any removal of stimulus and would not serve to decrease behavior, and offering additional prompts for assistance might be meant to encourage a behavior rather than decrease it. Each of these alternatives reflects different behavioral strategies that do not fit the framework of negative punishment, reinforcing the uniqueness of the correct answer in this context.