Positive and negative reinforcement

Skinner's Operant Conditioning model looks at the causes and effects of individual actions. For Skinner, the key to understanding behavior is to look at "reinforcements." When people do something and they receive reinforcement for the action, they are likely to repeat the action. If they receive no reinforcement, or if they receive a punishment, they are less likely to repeat the action.

Examples

It might be easier to understand this argument if we imagine a couple of scenarios:

Scenario 1: A learner studies very hard for a test and does so well, the teacher praises the learner in front of the class.

Scenario 2: A learner studies very hard for a test, gets a high score, and the teacher says, "you did so well, you don't have to take the final exam."

Scenario 3: A learner studies very hard for a test, gets the test back with a high score but no other remarks (no "good job!" or "A+++!") just the score.

Scenario 4: A learner studies very hard for a test, but when they show their family they get made fun of for having to study in order to do well.

Types of Reinforcement

Each of the scenarios above illustrates an aspect of Skinner's Operant Conditioning model.

  • Scenario 1: The learner received "positive reinforcement." Positive reinforcement is when the learner receives something desirable in response to an action. In this case, the learner studied hard and took the test and as a result, they are praised in front of the class. The learner gets something good in response to their effort.
  • Scenario 2: The learner received "negative reinforcement." Negative reinforcement is when the learner has something "bad" or unpleasurable removed in response to an action. In this case, the learner studied hard and took the test, and as a result, they don't have to take the final exam. The learner is spared something difficult in response to their effort.
  • Scenario 3: The learner receives a "neutral response" to their efforts. Neutral response is when the learner does not receive something desirable, nor do they have something undesirable decreased in response to an action. The learner studied hard and took the test, but there is no external sign that the effort matters. The learner does not benefit in response to their effort.
  • Scenario 4: The learner receives a "punishment" in response to their efforts. Punishment is when the learner has something bad happen to them in response to an action. In this case, the learner studied hard and took the test, but they were made fun of for having to study at all. The learner is harmed in response to their effort.

These scenarios provide examples of the 4 possible responses to an action:

  • Positive Reinforcement (this is a good outcome for the learner)
  • Negative Reinforcement (this is a good outcome for the learner)
  • Neutral response (while the response is neutral, it is likely to be felt as a negative response)
  • Punishment (this is a bad or negative outcome for the learner)

Of these four possible responses, the one that is often misunderstood is "negative reinforcement," as students confuse the concept with punishment. But they are different. Punishment is a negative outcome: something BAD happens because of the action. A negative reinforcement is the REMOVAL of something "bad" in response to an action. The video goes into more detail on positive and negative reinforcements as well as positive and negative punishment in the context of athletic training.

Instructors who are very interested in the conditioning should take the time to watch this 50 minute video from Dr. John Gabrieli from MIT: