When a dog's jumping behavior ceases because nothing happens when it jumps, what training principle is at work?

The training principle at work when a dog's jumping behavior ceases because it is no longer rewarded is extinction. Extinction occurs when a previously reinforced behavior is no longer followed by the expected reward, leading to a decrease in that behavior over time. In this scenario, if the dog jumps and does not receive attention, treats, or any other form of reinforcement, the likelihood of the jumping behavior repeating diminishes.

In this context, positive reinforcement would involve rewarding the dog for a desired behavior, which is not happening here, as the jumping behavior is not being reinforced. Negative punishment involves removing something the dog enjoys to reduce an undesired behavior, while positive punishment adds something unpleasant to decrease a behavior. These concepts do not apply when a behavior simply ceases due to a lack of reinforcement. In summary, extinction effectively captures the change in the dog's behavior due to the absence of reinforcement for the jumping action.