Negative Reinforcement

Running head: NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT/PUNISHMENT

Negative Reinforcement/Punishment

Yvonne Lemons

University of Memphis

April 20, 2011

Introduction

Most people have heard about positive and negative reinforcement. Positive or negative reinforcement can be used in just about any situation where a behavior needs to be changed. In psychology, reinforcement refers to the practice of adding or removing a stimulus in order to maintain or increase the probability of a specific behavioral response. This reinforcement can be either positive or negative. According to Michael (2005), positive reinforcement has occurred when an offered stimulus helps to increase the probability that a behavior will occur again in the future. For example, a teacher that gives a student a sticker for completing his/her homework is using positive reinforcement. The student will be much more likely to complete his/her homework in the future, because he/she will want to receive something positive (the sticker) in return.

Similar to positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement also increases the likelihood that a behavior will continue. However, negative reinforcement is an objectionable stimulus that is taken away after a behavioral response (Michael, 2005). Negative reinforcement can range from simply being annoying to severe physical distress. For example, doing one’s homework in response to a parent nagging is an example of negative reinforcement. If the parent’s nagging (stimulus) goes away after doing the homework (behavior), then the student is much more likely to do the homework in the future in order to avoid the nagging. Of most importance, negative reinforcement is often confused with punishment. Negative reinforcement and punishment are not the same thing. It is extremely important to understand the distinction between the two.

B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning

Negative Reinforcement cannot be...