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Glite Dictionary
positive stimulus

positive stimulus

4.6
Something like praise or a reward that makes someone do something again
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : estímulo positivo
  • Receiving praise acts as a positive stimulus that motivates employees to perform better.

So one of the ways is you can train them to associate an odour with a nutrient or with with a negative or positive stimulus.

Examples

  • At the same time, it is not impossible that Japanese research on the South may become a positive stimulus to American research on the South.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The incomes added by elderly migrants to a community are a positive stimulus that poses few of the environmental problems, like pollution and traffic congestion.

    Academic text (1990)

  • If the environmental conditions are positive (such as a radio broadcast of good news or a compliment from an admired person), then people will associate their arousal with the positive stimulus and thus experience an intensified good mood.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The psychologist used a positive stimulus to encourage the child's good behavior during the study.

  • Research shows that a positive stimulus can enhance learning and retention in students.

Synonyms

positive reinforcer
vspositive stimulus
  • Specialized
4.5

A thing given after a behavior that makes it more likely to happen again

produces a desirable rewarding response rather than stressing future behavior increase
positive reinforcing stimulus
vspositive stimulus
  • Specialized
8.6

Something pleasant that someone gives after a behavior to make it happen again

produces a desirable rewarding response rather than focusing on behavior repetition

Antonyms

negative stimulus
1 7.1

Something unpleasant that makes an action less likely

Surface Forms

positive stimulus singular
positive stimuli plural

Morphology

positive + stimulus

The noun phrase is compositionally built from 'positive' (beneficial/favorable) modifying 'stimulus' (something that triggers a response), so its meaning — a stimulus that produces a desirable or rewarding response — is directly derivable from the constituents. Although the term is often used in a technical (psychological) context, the semantic combination follows ordinary adjective + noun logic and is cross-linguistically transparent, so B1 learners who know both words will understand it.

Etymology

Positive stimulus gives a simple picture: positive means pleasant and stimulus is something that makes a person or animal react, like a smile or a treat that makes someone repeat a behavior. That's why positive stimulus means 'something pleasant that causes a desired response'.