Which concept is central to operant conditioning?

The central concept of operant conditioning is that behavior is shaped and maintained through the use of rewards and punishments. In this learning process, positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a rewarding consequence after the desired action is performed, while negative reinforcement also encourages a behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus when the behavior occurs. Conversely, punishment aims to decrease the likelihood of a behavior by introducing an unpleasant consequence. This framework is foundational in behaviorism and highlights the relationship between actions and their outcomes, illustrating how consequences can lead to changes in behavior over time.

In terms of the other options, inhibiting responses through negative reinforcement focuses on the removal of aversive stimuli but does not encompass the broader mechanism of using both rewards and punishments. Learning through observation and imitation relates more to social learning theory rather than operant conditioning. The association of stimuli to evoke reflexes is linked to classical conditioning, which deals with unconditioned and conditioned stimuli in the formation of learned reflexive responses rather than the active shaping of behavior through consequences.