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Reinforcements in Psychology: Definition & Examples

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  • 0:01 Positive & Negative…
  • 1:44 Punishment
  • 2:49 Schedules of Reinforcement
  • 4:31 Lesson Summary
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Lesson Transcript
Instructor: Alyssa Gilston
Reinforcements are stimuli that can strengthen or weaken specific behaviors. Learn about the many different ways that rewards and punishment are used to change and reinforce people's behaviors, and find out why some are more effective than others.

Positive & Negative Reinforcement

One of the many ways in which people learn is through operant conditioning. Operant conditioning simply means learning by reinforcement. There are a number of factors involved in reinforcing an individual's behaviors, and by applying reinforcements, we can increase and/or decrease behaviors as well.

There are multiple types of reinforcement that can be used in operant conditioning. The two most common forms are known as positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. It is important to note that, in this case, the words positive and negative do not mean good or bad. Instead, they mean you are adding (positive) or removing (negative) something in order to strengthen the desired behavior. Negative reinforcement is often confused with punishment; however, they are not the same.

Positive reinforcement occurs when a token or reward is given to strengthen a desired behavior. For example, if a child cleans her room, she may receive a candy bar or a toy as a reward. The reward will serve to strengthen the behavior because the child will be more likely to continue with this desired behavior in order to receive the reward.

Likewise, negative reinforcement also strengthens a behavior, but it does so by removing something that is unwanted. For instance, when you get into your car and put the key in the ignition, you might hear a loud bell or ringing sound. In order for the bell to stop, you need to put your seatbelt on. This is an example of negative reinforcement. In order for the sound to be removed, you need to fasten your seatbelt.

Punishment

Punishment is another form of reinforcement, and it can be both positive and negative, as well. Just as with positive and negative reinforcement, the words positive and negative are not related to good or bad; instead they mean adding or removing a punishment. As opposed to reinforcement, punishment is intended to decrease the likelihood of an undesirable behavior.

Positive punishment occurs when we introduce something to stop an unwanted behavior. For example, if a child behaves in a manner that a parent sees as wrong or even dangerous, like running into a busy street with cars driving by, the parent might scold or spank the child. Both of those serve to decrease the likelihood that the dangerous and unwanted behavior will occur again.

Negative punishment is when we take something away after an undesirable behavior occurs. Again, the goal of punishment is to decrease the behavior. So, if a child is fighting with her brother, a parent may take away her favorite toy or suspend her TV privileges. By doing so, the parent will decrease the likelihood that the unwanted behavior will continue.

Schedules of Reinforcement

How and when a reinforcement is given can change a person's response. Because of this, there are also a variety of schedules of reinforcement that can be used to strengthen a behavior. The word schedule refers to the timing of the reinforcement.

The four most commonly used schedules of reinforcement:

Fixed Schedules

Fixed schedules occur on a regular schedule. Fixed-ratio reinforcing is when a reward is given after a specific number of responses have occurred. For instance, if you are a member of a frequent flyer program, you may receive a reward certificate for free airfare after you earn a certain amount of points.

A fixed-interval schedule occurs when we reinforce a behavior after a specific period of time has elapsed. Employees that get a pay check either weekly or biweekly are being paid on a fixed-interval basis. Knowing that a paycheck will come after working for a period of time strengthens the employee's likelihood of working regularly.

Variable Schedules

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