Skinner's operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a learning process through positive and negative reinforcement. This conditioning establishes a link between a behavior and a consequence of that specific behavior. There are positive and negative reinforcements and punishments. Positive reinforcements encourage things that can be achieved after the desired behavior (when the student shows good behaviors, reward them with a sticker on a chart). In the situation where positive reinforcement has been used, the desired behavior is reinforced. Positive punishment involves carrying out an undesirable consequence that will decrease the undesirable behavior. Negative reinforcement involves discouraging a behavior that results in an unpleasant response. A negative punishment is when we take away something that is favorable to that student (when the student shows bad behavior, we take away 5 minutes of play).