Synonyms
Definition
Consequences of behavior in operant conditioning that result in strengthening (reinforcement) or weakening (punishment) the frequency of that behavior.
Introduction
During the operant conditioning process, the consequences of behavior affect the probability of future demonstrations of that behavior. Thorndike (1898, 1911) and Skinner (1938) have shown that reinforcement (also known as reward) strengthens a behavior, i.e., increases its frequency, whereas punishment weakens a behavior, i.e., decreases its frequency. Reinforcement can also be distinguished as primary/secondary and intrinsic/extrinsic.
Positive and Negative Reinforcement
Reinforcement is an environmental stimulus whose presentation results in the strengthening (increase of the frequency) of an exhibited behavior. An organism, after a number of contiguous presentations of behavior-reward, associates a specific...
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References
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Papageorgi, I. (2018). Positive and Negative Reinforcement and Punishment. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1048-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1048-1
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