What Is Positive Or Negative Reinforcement In Psychology?
BF Skinner, one of the key theorists of the behavioral orientation, defined reinforcement as a type of learning based on the association of a behavior with the consequences derived from it, which increase or decrease the probability that it will be performed again. When they are negative we talk about punishment, and when they are positive we talk about reinforcement.
Within reinforcement learning we distinguish two types of consequence: positive and negative reinforcement While positive reinforcement occurs when the behavior involves obtaining a reward, negative reinforcement consists of the avoidance or withdrawal of an aversive stimulus. Let’s see the main characteristics of both procedures.
The concepts “positive reinforcement” and “negative reinforcement” They are framed in the paradigm of instrumental or operant conditioning Unlike classical or Pavlovian conditioning, in which the association between a stimulus and a response is learned, in instrumental conditioning the subject associates the performance of a behavior with certain consequences.
Operant conditioning emerged from the work of behaviorists Edward Thorndike, who studied the process by which cats managed to escape from “problem boxes,” and Burrhus F. Skinner, who systematically described the characteristics of this learning procedure and what applied to diverse areas, especially education.
Skinner distinguished three types of instrumental learning : punishment, which consists of the appearance of an aversive stimulus after the execution of the behavior, omission, in which the response is associated with the absence of reward, and reinforcement, in which the behavior is rewarded. Within this procedure we find positive and negative reinforcement.
Within the framework of operant conditioning, the consequences of behavior can be positive or negative for the person who receives them; However, this differentiation is not what separates positive from negative reinforcement, but rather When the behavior has appetitive consequences we talk about reinforcement and punishment when they are aversive.
When we refer to reinforcement or punishment, the terms “positive” and “negative” do not refer to the pleasantness of the consequence, but to the appearance or disappearance of a given stimulus : in positive reinforcement you learn that you will get a reward if you do something, and in negative reinforcement you learn that an unpleasant stimulus will be avoided or eliminated.
What is positive reinforcement?
In positive reinforcement learning, performing a behavior is associated with obtaining a pleasant consequence. This does not have to be an object, not even tangible ; Food, substances, a smile, a verbal message or the appearance of a pleasant emotion can be understood as positive reinforcements in many contexts.
A father who praises his young daughter every time she uses the toilet correctly strengthens positive reinforcement learning; The same thing happens when a company gives financial bonuses to its most productive workers, and even when we get a bag of chips after putting a coin in a vending machine.
The concept “positive reinforcement” refers to the reward that follows the behavior, while positive reinforcement is the procedure by which the learning subject makes the association. However, the terms “reinforcement” and “reinforcement” are often used interchangeably, probably because this distinction does not exist in English.
From a technical point of view we can say that in positive reinforcement there is a positive contingency between a specific response and an appetitive stimulus. The awareness of this contingency motivates the subject to execute the behavior in order to obtain the reward (or reinforcement).
Unlike what happens in positive reinforcement, in negative reinforcement The instrumental response involves the disappearance of an aversive stimulus that is, an object or situation that motivates the subject to escape or try not to come into contact with it.
In behavioral terms, in this procedure reinforcement is the disappearance or non-appearance of the aversive stimulation. As we have previously stated, the word “negative” refers to the fact that the reward does not consist of obtaining a stimulus but rather its absence.
This type of learning is divided into two procedures: escape training and avoidance training. In negative avoidance reinforcement the behavior prevents the appearance of the aversive stimulus; For example, when an agoraphobic person avoids using public transport to avoid the anxiety it causes, they are being negatively reinforced.
In contrast, escape consists of the disappearance of an aversive stimulus that is present before the subject executes the behavior. Some Examples of Escape Negative Reinforcement They are that an alarm clock stops when you press a button, that a mother buys her child what she asks for to stop crying or that consuming a painkiller relieves pain.
