punishment ? To help explain, let me share a couple examples. Say you are teaching a child to say "cookie." The steps behind teaching the word might go a little something like this: Antecedent :  You hold up a cookie and say, "cookie" Behavior : The child imitates "cookie" Consequence : You give the child the cookie. (This would be positive reinforcement, assuming that giving the child the cookie increases the chances he will say the word again in the presence of the the cookie. Or, in plain English, assuming the child actually wants the cookie--although behavior analysts would probably shy away from describing it this way, as it reflects the child's internal state, rather than his behavior). Or, perhaps you are teaching your child to walk. Antecedent: You hold out your hands and say "come here!" Behavior: Your child takes his first step toward you. Consequence: You cheer and throw your child in the air as he giggles. (Again, this is only reinforcement if it actually increases the chances your child will take a step toward you the next time you hold out your hands and say, "come here!" It wouldn't be a reinforcement if he hated being thrown in the air- in this case, it might decrease the chances that he'd come to you and would, then, become a  punishment*. Consequences are different for different people- the exact same action that is a reinforcement for one person can be a punishment for another). These three things- the antecedent,