What effect does reinforcement have on behavior?

Behavior modification is a psychotherapeutic intervention primarily used to eliminate or reduce maladaptive behavior in children or adults. While some therapies focus on changing thought processes that can affect behavior, for example, cognitive behavioral therapy, behavior modification focuses on changing specific behaviors with little consideration of a person’s thoughts or feelings. The progress and outcome of the intervention can be measured and evaluated. Functional analysis of the antecedents and consequences of the problem behavior(s) must be identified. This leads to the creation of specific target behaviors that will become the focus of change. Then, certain variables can be manipulated via reinforcers and punishments to change problem behavior(s). The goal is to eliminate or reduce maladaptive behavior.

Behavior modification is a type of behavior therapy. B. F. Skinner demonstrated that behavior could be shaped through reinforcement and/or punishment. Skinner noted that a reinforcer is a consequence that increases the likelihood of behavior to recur, while punishment is a consequence that decreases the chance. Positive and negative are used in mathematical terms. Positive indicates that something is added, and negative indicates something is subtracted or taken away. Thus, positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is encouraged by rewards. If a child enjoys candy and cleaning the room is the desired behavior, the candy is a positive reinforcer (reward) because it is something that is given or added when the behavior occurs. This makes the behavior more likely to recur. Negative reinforcement is removing a stimulus as the consequence of behavior but results in a positive outcome for the individual. For example, a fine is dropped, and a person no longer has to go to jail. The removal of the negative stimulus (the fine) results in a positive outcome for the individual, no jail time.

Conversely, positive punishment is the addition of an adverse consequence. For example, a child gets spanked when he crosses the street without holding his mother’s hand. He then no longer crosses the street alone. Spanking is positive punishment because it is a consequence added to the situation that decreases the likelihood of the child crossing the street alone. Negative punishment is taking away favorable consequences to reduce unwanted behavior. For example, if Emily doesn’t finish her homework on time, her cell phone gets taken away. She makes it a priority to finish her homework immediately after school before she does anything else. Removal of the cell phone would be a “negative” because it takes something away, decreasing the chance that she won’t finish her homework the next time.

Reinforcement and punishment both work independently, as well as together, as part of a behavior plan. Positive reinforcement works exceedingly better and faster than punishment. In child psychiatry, parents often come to the office angry and frustrated with their child because “nothing works.” They have tried multiple types of punishments when bad behavior has occurred using the removal of toys or privileges away or placing a child in time out. Often positive types are not being reinforced. One immediate benefit of behavior modification plans is the shift away from solely punishing unwanted behavior to also rewarding good behavior.

(Table 1, Scott and Cogburn, 2017)

In table 1, note that punishment and reinforcement have nothing to do with good or bad behavior, only if it increases or decreases the likelihood of the behavior to recur.

There are several schedules of reinforcement that can impact behavior. When a behavior plan is initially set up, continuous two is used to establish and reinforce the behavior. Once the behavior has been established, continuous reinforcement can change to intermittent reinforcement which is termed thinning. There are four types of intermittent reinforcement. They are:

1. Fixed interval where the person is reinforced by a set number of responses

2. Variable interval where the person is reinforced by a variable number of responses

3. Fixed ratio where the person is reinforced after a certain number of responses

4. Variable ratio where the person is reinforced after a variable number of responses. Variable ratio intermittent reinforcement is the most effective schedule to reinforce a behavior.

Examples

1. Fixed interval: rewarding a person at the end of each day

2. Variable interval: rewarding a person sometimes at the end of the day, sometimes at the end of the week, sometimes every few days

3. Fixed ratio: rewarding a person after completing the desired behavior four times

4. Variable ratio: rewarding a person after completing the desired behavior after three times, then after six times, then after two times. Gambling is a real-world example of a variable ratio of reinforcement.

One of the many different ways in which people learn is through a process called operant conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning. Reinforcement in operant conditioning involves strengthening an action by associating it with a consequence.

If you want a child to clean their room, for instance, you may reinforce this behavior by giving them an allowance every time that they do. By getting the same consequence (money) each time they perform the action (cleaning the room), they begin to learn this behavior.

The type of reinforcement used can play an important role in how quickly a behavior is learned and the overall strength of the resulting response.

In operant conditioning, "reinforcement" refers to anything that increases the likelihood that a response will occur. Psychologist B.F. Skinner coined the term in 1937,

For example, reinforcement might involve presenting praise (a reinforcer) immediately after a child puts away their toys (the response). By reinforcing the desired behavior with praise, the child will be more likely to perform the same action again in the future.

Reinforcement can include anything that strengthens or increases a behavior. In a classroom setting, for example, types of reinforcement might include giving praise, letting students out of unwanted work, or providing token rewards, candy, extra playtime, or fun activities.

Reinforcements can be either primary or secondary.

Primary reinforcement, which is sometimes referred to as unconditional reinforcement, occurs naturally. Primary reinforcers often have an evolutionary basis in that they aid in the survival of the species. As such, they don't require learning in order to work.

Examples of primary reinforcers include:

Genetics may also play a role in primary reinforcement. For example, research suggests that people may pick their mates, in part, due to specific genetic traits that they deem to be more preferable.

Secondary reinforcement involves stimuli that have become rewarding by being paired with another reinforcing stimulus. This is also known as conditioned reinforcement.

For example, when training a dog, praise and treats might be used as primary reinforcers. The sound of a clicker can be added with the praise and treats as a secondary reinforcer. Eventually, the sound of the clicker alone begins to work as a reinforcer.

In operant conditioning, there are two different types of reinforcement (beyond primary and secondary reinforcements). Both influence behavior but in different ways. The two types are:

• Positive reinforcement: This involves adding something to increase response, such as giving a piece of candy to a child after they clean their room.
• Negative reinforcement: This involves removing something to increase response, such as canceling a quiz if students turn in all of their homework for the week. By removing the aversive stimulus (the quiz), the teacher hopes to increase the desired behavior (completing all homework).

While these terms involve the words positive and negative, it's important to note that Skinner did not utilize these to mean "good" or "bad." Instead, think of what these terms would mean when used mathematically.

Positive is the equivalent of a plus sign, meaning something is added to or applied to the situation. Negative is the equivalent of a minus sign, meaning something is removed or subtracted from the situation.

Here are a few real-world examples of how reinforcement can be used to change behavior.

During practice for your office softball team, the coach yells, "Great job!" after you throw a pitch. Because of this, you're more likely to pitch the ball the same way again. This is an example of positive reinforcement.

Another example is while at work, you exceed your manager's sales quota for the month, so you receive a bonus as part of your paycheck. This makes it more likely that you will try to exceed the minimum sales quota again next month.

You go to your doctor and get your yearly flu shot to avoid coming down with the flu. In this case, you are engaging in a behavior (getting a shot) to avoid an aversive stimulus (getting sick). This is an example of negative reinforcement.

Another example is if you slather aloe vera gel on a sunburn to prevent the burn from hurting. Applying the gel prevents an aversive outcome (pain), so this is an example of negative reinforcement. Because engaging in the behavior minimizes an aversive outcome, you will also be more likely to use aloe vera gel again in the future.

How and when reinforcement is delivered can affect the overall strength of a response. The following qualities can measure and describe response strength:

• Accuracy: Did the reinforcement deliver the desired response?
• Duration: How long did the response continue?
• Frequency: How often did the response occur?
• Persistence: Did the response occur each and every time?

The timing of when a reinforcer is presented can be manipulated. During the early stages of learning, continuous reinforcement is often used. This involves reinforcing a response each and every time it occurs, such as giving a puppy a treat every time it pees outside.

Once a behavior has been acquired, a partial reinforcement schedule can be used. The four main types of partial reinforcement include:

Reinforcement plays a vital role in the operant conditioning process. When used appropriately, this can be an effective learning tool to encourage desirable behaviors and discourage undesirable ones.

It's important to remember that what constitutes reinforcement can vary from one person to another. In a classroom setting, for example, one child may find a treat reinforcing while another might be indifferent to such a reward. And if a child only receives attention from their parents when being scolded, that attention can actually reinforce the misbehavior.

By learning more about how reinforcement works, you can gain a better understanding of how different types of reinforcement contribute to learning and behavior.