Consequence: Anything that happens after the behavior has occurred. It could be a reaction from the parent/caregiver/therapist, access to a favorite toy, or attention, e.g., getting a break after completing an activity, getting scolded for misbehaving, people smiling or disapproving, etc.
Reinforcement: Addition of a stimulus to increase the frequency of behavior. It is used to help increase the probability that a specific behavior will occur in the future by giving a reward/stimulus immediately after the behavior is exhibited.
-Positive Reinforcement involves presenting a stimulus to the child after the desired behavior is exhibited making that behavior more likely to occur in the future. Eg: A kid is given a cookie as s/he keeps the toys back in the cupboard, here, a cookie is a positive reinforcer.
-Negative Reinforcement: involves when a stimulus is removed after the behavior is exhibited. Eg A child keeps his toys back in the cupboard to avoid solving puzzles that s/he doesn’t like. In this case, s/he will not be rewarded with a cookie.
Punishment: Punishment is a process by which a consequence immediately follows a behavior which decreases the frequency of that behavior occurring in the future.
-Positive punishment involves presenting a negative consequence after an undesirable behavior is exhibited making that behavior less likely to occur in the future. Eg: A child who engages in aggressive behavior with other children is made to finish two pages of the worksheet.
-Negative punishment involves removing a desired stimulus after an undesirable behavior is exhibited. Eg: A child if engages in an aggressive manner, then the teacher takes his toy away from him which he likes.