Chapter 7 - Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Reinforcement

many everyday behaviors are promoted through reinforcement

• eating nutritious food

• exercising

• driving safely

• working productively

reinforcement plays a key role in many interventions

• often even in interventions designed to eliminate unwanted behaviors

reinforcement cant eliminate undesirable behaviors by being provided for positive opposites

Positive Reinforcement

increase in the probability or likelihood of a response following the presentation of a positive reinforcer

how do I know if an event is reinforcing?

• does response frequency increase when followed by the event?

  • yes → its a reinforcer

how do I know if an event is a positive reinforcer specifically?

• does response frequency increase when followed by the event?

  • yes → its a reinforcer

  • did you add somethin?

    • yes → its a reinforcer

many different types of reinforcers

• big categories: primary vs secondary

  • primary - unlearned

  • secondary - learned

types:

• food and consumables

  • very powerful

  • not used often in applied settings

    • not natural

    • depends on deprivation state

    • not everyone likes the same things

    • administration can interrupt ongoing behavior

    • hard in group settings

  • used when other events aren’t effective

    • often paired with other events to develop their reinforcing value

• sensory reinforcers

  • events that stimulate the 5 senses

    • usually primary

  • examples

    • music

    • pictures

    • perfume

  • can be hard to implement

    • often not nature in applied settings

    • may become satiated

    • not everyone likes the same things

    • administration can interrupt ongoing behavior

    • hard in group settings

• social reinforcers

  • secondary

  • examples

    • verbal praise

    • attention

    • physical contact

    • facial expressions

  • often used in applied settings

    • easily implemented in natural settings

    • doesn’t interrupt behavior

    • satiation is less of a problem

    • most find it rewarding

    • easy to maintain outside intervention

  • problems

    • deviant behavior may be reinforced by peers

    • must be delivered contingently on prosocial behavior

      • often individuals only attend to disruptive behavior

    • may be hard for parents/teachers to track

• high-probability behaviors

  • some activities are more probable than others

    • child is more likely to watch TV than study

  • Premack Principle: of any pair of responses or activities, the more frequent can reinforce the less frequency *high probability behavior can be used to reinforce a low probability behavior

    • studied in animals: wheel running can reinforce lever pressing

  • performing a response to gain access to high-valued activity

    • secondary reinforcers

  • any behavior observed to occur more frequently can be used to follow and reinforce a lower-frequency behavior

    • use access to TV as reinforcer for studying

  • parents violate all the time

  • useful for expanding range of reinforcers available

  • strengths

    • high-valued activities & privileges are often available

      • extra-reinforcers aren’t necessary

    • natural to the situation

  • limitations

    • access to an activity can’t always immediately follow low-probability behavior

      • very problematic in early stages

    • sometimes providing an activity is all-or-none

      • can limit flexibility

    • not all individuals find the same activities reinforcing

    • in some institutions, activities must be available to all

• feedback

  • providing info about performance

    • implicit in delivery of reinforcer

    • can be employed independent of explicit approval/other reinforcers

  • examples

    • inform if behavior was/was not done

    • extent to which behavior has changed

      • % of drivers not speeding that day

    • biofeedback

      • providing info about physiological processes

  • strengths

    • easy

    • natural to many situations

    • often used as a first-line effort

      • may implement stronger methods later if desired result isn’t obtained

  • limitations

    • effects often weak and inconsistent

    • more effective in combo with praise, privileges, tokens

• tokens

  • secondary, generalized reinforcers

    • poker chips

    • coins

    • tickets

    • stars

    • points

    • check marks

  • can be exchanged for a variety of backup reinforcers

    • aid in overcoming many of the concerns associated with other reinforcers

  • token economy - reinforcement system based on tokens

    • tokens are earned and used to purchase backup reinforcers

  • requirements

    • specify target behaviors

    • specify number of tokens that can be earned for performance of behaviors

    • specify backup reinforcers that are available

    • specify number of tokens backup reinforcers cost

  • used often in institutional settings

    • psychiatric hospitals

      • participating in activities

      • attending group meetings

      • appropriate mealtime behavior

    • juvenile delinquents

      • reading the newspaper

      • keeping rooms neat

      • receiving good grades

    • factories

      • no injury days

  • strengths

    • potent reinforcers

      • develop behaviors at higher levels than praise, approval, feedback

    • bridge delay between target response & backup reinforcement

    • less subject to satiation because of variety of backup reinforcers

    • don’t interrupt target response

    • administration of 1 reinforcer to people with differing preferences

    • permit administration of all-or-none backup reinforcers

    • can be implemented with groups or individuals

  • limitations

    • extraneous backup reinforcers may be introduced

    • parents may object

    • hard to remove after behavior is obtained

    • tokens may be gained in unauthorized ways

Reinforcement Delivery Matters

some reinforcers are more potent than others

but, how the reinforcer is delivered matters more than what the reinforcer is

factors influencing reinforcement effectiveness

• contingency

• immediacy

• magnitude

• quality or type

• schedule

Schedules of Reinforcement

refers to the rule denoting how many or which specific responses will be reinforced

• continuous - every response is reinforced each time it occurs

• intermittent - reinforcement delivered after only some responses

fixed ratio (FR)

• reinforcer delivered after a specific # of responses

• FR1: consistent responding

• FR1+: inconsistent performance; pauses after reinforcer

• providing a bonus to a worker for every 10th sale

variable ratio (VR)

• reinforcer delivered after specific # of responses, but # changes

• more consistent & higher performance than FR, few pauses

• example: putting money into slot machine

fixed interval (FI)

• reinforcer delivered for 1st response after a specific time period

• inconsistent performance & big pause after reinforcer

• praise students every 30 minutes if they’re attending at end of interval

variable interval (VI)

• reinforcer delivered for 1st response after variable period

• more consistent performance than FI & few pauses after reinforcer

• praise students for attending at end of interval; interval changes

Reinforcement Techniques to Decrease Undesirable Responses

are extinction & punishment the only ways to decrease behavior?

• no!

• reinforcement is often the choice

why?

• teaches positive & prosocial behaviors

strategies

• differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)

  • provide reinforcement of all responses except the undesired response

  • useful when there are high rates of the undesired target behavior

  • effective for self-injury behavior, aggression

• differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA)

  • like DRO, but reinforce a particular behavior

• differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)

  • reinforce a behavior that is incompatible with the undesired behavior

  • effective for: decreasing hyperactive behaviors, aggression, pica

• differential reinforcement of functionally equivalent behavior

  • often, behavior serves a function

  • can decrease undesired behavior by reinforcing prosocial, acceptable behavior that attains the same goals and consequences

  • especially good for undesired behaviors now reinforced by attention

    • shape to ask for attention

• differential reinforcement of low response rates (DRL)

  • provide reinforcement for decreasing frequency of undesired behavior

  • provide reinforcement for increase in time intervals in which undesired behavior doesn’t occur

  • can fully eliminate a behavior

Negative Reinforcement

can be used to develop behavior

behavior is increased when

• response → escape from aversive event

• response → avoidance of aversive event

lots of examples in real life

• turn off alarm to escape noise

• take medicine to relieve headache

escape isn’t widely used in applied settings

• requires an ongoing aversive event

  • aversive event must be delivered a lot before reinforcement can occur

  • not ethically ok if + reinforcement would work

• often → undesired side effects

  • escape from the situation

  • avoid person administering aversive events

  • aggression

• hard to administer

  • must be terminated immediately after response

  • requires careful monitoring

  • may need special equipment