The strengthening of behavior which results from reinforcement is appropriately called 'conditioning'. In operant conditioning we 'strengthen' an operant in the sense of making a response more probable or, in actual fact, more frequent. – B. F. Skinner
Reinforcement refers to “the process by which a stimulus or event strengthens or increases the probability of a behavior or an event that follows” (Santrok, 2003, p. 280). In other words, a reinforcer is anything that strengthens the behavior that leads to it. Reinforcement can be further subdivided into categories of positive and negative based on the specific use of the reinforcer. Negative reinforcement is an event whose termination, when it occurs following an operant response, increases the likelihood that the response will recur.
Negative Reinforcement Example
Scenario - Karen always does her homework assignments as soon as she gets them so she won’t have to worry about them anymore.
This scenario depicts a situation where negative reinforcement is in operation. Karen engages in a particular behavior – in this case the prompt completion of homework – in order to facilitate the removal of an aversive stimulus – namely the worry associated with incomplete assignments. She has learned through repeated exposure to the situation and her previous responses to it, that immediate attention to her homework results in the removal of the aversive stimulus of worry. In this way, the behavior of completing assignments in a timely manner has been reinforced to the extent that it occurs more frequently in response to each new occurrence of homework (i.e., the stimulus).
Specifically then, in behavioral terms, the negative reinforcer in this context is the anxiety produced by the pending assignments. The behavior that this reinforcer increases the frequency of is the timely completion of the assignments. This reinforcer is effective in this particular case because the anxiety represents an aversive condition to Karen. Based on individual differences among students, this may not always hold true to the same degree for other individuals, thus rendering the negative reinforcer less powerful as the condition of worry caused by pending assignments is judged as less aversive.
In general terms, research has shown that reinforcement is ineffective if:
1. the "reinforcer" is not reinforcing - (e.g., a single reinforcer won't work for all students; can be a case of too much of a good thing, like kids rewarded with so much candy that they get sick of candy, or it can be that the reinforcer is something that the kid would rather avoid, like "do all your chores and Uncle John will give you a big kiss")
2. the reinforcement is not consistent - continuous, consistent reinforcement brings about more rapid behavior change than intermittent reinforcement; a little reinforcement early is better than a lot of reinforcement later
3. the individual loses too much, or gains too little, by changing a behavior - people constantly do "cost/benefit analysis" kinds of evaluations, and the change in behavior has to be "worth it" in the mind of the person changing the behavior (e.g., if a student's change in behavior and the teacher's resulting praise means that the student loses status in his or her group, then that may be too high a cost and the student may revert to previous behavior that doesn't get praised; or, AP students not taking honors because it's just more and bigger assignments)
4. too much is expected too soon - shaping proceeds too rapidly (e.g., if a hyperactive student is praised for sitting quietly in his seat for one minute, that behavior at that level needs to be reinforced for a while before moving up to the expectation that the student will sit still for two minutes) (Abbott, 2003)
Additionally, punishment is frequently confused with negative reinforcement primarily because the threat of some punishment or aversive situation is often the cause of the stress that is avoided or escaped – thus producing the relief. Likewise, it is often much more difficult to recognize that negative reinforcement is shaping, modifying, and manipulating behavior and emotions than to see that the more direct, concrete positive reinforcements or rewards – e.g., money, friendship, privileges, etc. - are strongly influencing behavior (Tucker-Ladd, 2004). Furthermore, research has indicated that punishment, which is associated with an escape response, produces more immediate changes, whereas negative reinforcement, associated with avoidance, tends to require more time to incorporate into consistent behavioral responses (Miller, 2005). Nonetheless, negative reinforcement and the avoidance of uncomfortable conditions, is a powerful motivator in our day to day lives.
References
Abbott, L. (2013). Behavioral theory: Part 2 - operant conditioning. The University of Texas web site:http://teachnet.edb.utexas.edu/~lynda_abbott/Behavioral2.html
Miller, L. K. (2005). Principles of everyday behavior analysis, 4e. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/ColePublishing.
Santrock, J. W. (2003). Psychology, 7e Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Tucker-Ladd, C. E. (2004). Psychological self-help. Springfield, IL: Mental Health Network.