Answer and explanation:
According to operant conditioning theory, consequences have the power to increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior taking place. For instance, if John gets home past curfew and his father takes away his phone as a punishment, John is less likely to arrive late again (weakening). He does not want the bad consequence to repeat itself. On the other hand, if Caitlin takes out the trash and her mother rewards her by thanking and complimenting her, Caitlin is more likely to take out the trash again (strengthening). The reward made her feel good about her action, and she would like it to happen more frequently.