Which of the following best describes negative reinforcement?

Negative reinforcement is a concept in operant conditioning that involves the removal of an unpleasant or aversive stimulus to increase the likelihood of a desired behavior being repeated in the future.

When negative reinforcement occurs, an individual experiences the cessation of an unpleasant situation, which strengthens the behavior that led to the removal of that situation. For example, if a student studies and thus eliminates the anxiety of not knowing the material, the behavior of studying is reinforced because it leads to the removal of that anxiety.

This principle is often contrasted with punishment, where an aversive stimulus is introduced instead, which does not reinforce a behavior but rather seeks to decrease its occurrence. Thus, removing an unpleasant stimulus aligns with the definition of negative reinforcement, making it the correct response to the question.