So, the word 'positive' that we use to describe reinforcement (and punishment) has nothing do to with 'good' things. In this respect, positive simply means the adding of a stimulus in the environment. Backtracking a little, just to solidify the concepts, the term 'reinforcement' means that the behaviour will increase in future frequency.
For example, a child being praised for studying for the first time, and then the child studying again a few days later is a 'positive reinforcement'. There is a stimulus that is now available that was not available before the presentation of the behaviour (the praise) as well as an increase in the frequency of the behaviour (the child studies again in the near future).
In regards to the word 'negative', this means the removal of a stimulus in the environment. So an example of negative reinforcement would be turning off the television when there is a programme on you don't like, and doing this behaviour every time you see that programme on. You are removing the stimulus of the programme, and is reinforcing to you.
Take Note: It is important for you to remember that we can only classify consequences as being reinforcing or punishing if they increase or decrease frequency of behaviour in the future respectively. For example, just stating that a teacher shouts as her pupil for writing on the desks is not a punishment unless we have evidence to show that this consequence has decreased the future frequency of that behaviour. Think back to when you were at school, (or if your still at school) at those few children who were always non-compliant, unruly, often disruptive, and so on, and were shouted at every single day at school. The teacher shouting at them, although it may have worked as a punisher for most students, was not a punisher for these children, as their behaviour did not decrease.
The following diagram illustrates the effects of positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement in a clearer way than words (it also shows positive punishment and negative punishment, but more on that in the next post).
Another key point we have to remember when dealing with positive (and negative) consequences, is that we know that the behaviour has changed due to the consequence that the behaviour has evoked. Going back to a previous example, a teacher shouting at her pupil may seemingly decrease the frequency of a behaviour, but it maybe the social disapproval from fellow classmates for interrupting class that maybe the effective positive punishment.
When we are looking to set up a situation where something that is going to reinforce a behaviour, we need to consider the following;
Set up an initial easy criterion.
Use high quality reinforcement of sufficient magnitude - Someone who is told that they will get £25 when they get a Nobel Prize is not going to be worked towards. Someone who will get £25 when they pass their driving test is a much more suitable criterion.
Use varied reinforcers - a child who always receives a chocolate bar every time they complete a piece of homework is soon going to get sick of chocolate (and possibly fat and unhealthy!)
Reinforce each occurrence first, and then gradually thin - again, giving a child a chocolate bar every single time they do their homework, they are going to expect this every time. It is likely that the natural reinforcement of performing well academically will ever emerge.
Gradually increase the time between the response and reinforcement given - You can't expect to work hard for a day, and then get a degree at the end.
Moving on from the basics of positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement now, we need to consider some stimuli that may actually be positively or negatively reinforcing.
All animals, including humans, all have what is known as Automatic Reinforcers. These are reinforcers that need no mediation of others to be effective. A simple example is scratching an itch. The relief that you get from this is totally mediated by yourself. Rincover (1981) stated that automatic reinforcement is anything that "sounds good, looks good, tastes good, smells good, feels good to touch, or the movement is good" However, when talking in behaviour analyst terms, the word "good" has little value, as "good" is not a measurable concept (don't worry if your a bit lost with that one, just a little something extra).
As well as automatic reinforcement, we are also under the influence of Unconditioned Reinforcers. These are reinforcers that have evolutionary purposes; these are reinforcing to us, as they have aided our survival. Examples of unconditioned reinforcers are food, water, sleep, warmth, and so on. As I'm sure you don't need to be told, without even one of the following, our survival would not even be possible.
In contrast to unconditioned reinforcers, everything else we find reinforcing as known as Conditioned Reinforcers. These can range from our mobile phone and computer, to our love of music and literature. Money is also a conditioned reinforcer, but is usually seen as an extremely powerful reinforcer, as it not only allows us access to other conditioned reinforcers, but also access to unconditioned reinforcers like food and
warmth.
When looking at negative reinforcement, there is broadly two types of this; escape and avoidance.
Escape - when we perform a behaviour, it leads to us terminating a stimulus which is present that we do not want. For example, you may not want to do the washing up after dinner, so you make a fuss about it after doing a few, and someone else takes over, thus escaping the situation.
Avoidance - This is when we do not come into contact with the stimulus altogether. For example, after we have all finished dinner, my sister will wander upstairs so that she will not be asked to do the washing up, thus avoiding the task altogether.
So, to conclude, positive reinforcement is defined by consequences of behaviour that increase future frequency of behaviour by adding a stimuli to the environment. Negative reinforcement is defined by consequences that increase the future frequency of behaviour by removing stimuli from the environment.
Please ask questions about anything you want to know more about, or do not understand.
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