Reinforces & Punishment

Vital Concepts in Operant Conditioning

B. F. Skinner

The Skinner Box

Operant Conditioning

Can be defined as a way of learning in which a voluntary response becomes more likely to occur again or less likely, depending on its favorable to unfavorable consequences. This type of conditioning applies to voluntary responses, which is produced so that a potential favorable outcome will occur. This was termed by B. F. Skinner in 1937, and thereafter, inspired many future studies and revalations. The Skinner Box was his most common invention, which is based on the process he called 'reinforcement.'

This charts helps explain how reinforcement and punishment help in training a dog.

Reinforcement is the process in which a stimulus increases the probability that a preceding behavior will occur again. A reinforcer can be defined as the stimulus that increases during reinforcement.

Reinforcers can be either negative or postitive.

POSITIVE REINFORCER

This is a stimulus that is ADDED to the environment that brings about an increase in a preceding response.

Examples of this include:

Getting to watch TV after all homework and chores are completed. (the TV is added so that the homework and chores get finished)

Giving a dog a treat to get him to 'sit.'
(the treat is added so that the dog will perform the desired trick)

NEGATIVE REINFORCER

This is an unpleasant stimulus whose removal leads to an increase in the probability that a preceding response will be repeated in the future.

An example of this includes:

Taking Tylenol to get rid of a headache. ( By adding Tylenol, you will get rid of the unpleasant headache)

POSTIVE PUNISHMENT

Weakens a response throught the application of an unplesant stimulus.

Examples of this include:

Going to jail to serve time after shoplifting. (Going to jail to prevent crime in the future)

Getting a ticket after a cop pulls you over for speeding. (Getting a ticket would prevent further speeding)

NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT

The removal of something pleasant.

Examples of this include:

Taking away a child's TV program because he did not do his chores. (TV taken to prevent further disobedience)

Taking a child's fun time from him to write sentences of the board for disrupting class. (Fun time taken aways to prevent further disruption)

Reinforcement VS Punishment

Punishment has several disadvantages, including:It's frequently ineffectiveIt can convey the idea that physical aggression is permissable and/or desirable
It also does not present an option to act through a different, more appropriate behavior.

B.F. Skinner advocated against using punishment. Reinforcement is a much better psychological tool, and simpler to utilize. When you weigh the side effects which are possible with punishment, versus the possible success of reinforcement, the choice is clear. In certain cases, punishment is necessary, but only after reinforcement oriented behavior modification has repetitively failed.

SOURCES

Information
Psychsmart text by McGraw-HillEssortment (website)

PicturesGoogle Search (Operant learning)

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