Invitation to Psychology

Chapter 9 Learning and Conditioning 319

punishment) or if studying makes you lose time

with your friends (negative punishment), you may

stop studying:

Positive

punishment:

Ridicule by

friends

Result:

Studying

decreases

Behavior:

Studying

Negative

punishment:

Loss of time

with friends

The distinction between positive and negative

reinforcement and punishment has been a source

of confusion for generations of students, turn-

ing many strong minds to mush. You will master

these terms more quickly if you understand that

“positive” and “negative” have nothing to do with

“good” or “bad.” They refer to whether something

is given or taken away. In the case of reinforce-

ment, think of a positive reinforcer as something

that is added or obtained (imagine a plus sign) and

a negative reinforcer as avoidance of, or escape

from, something unpleasant (imagine a minus

sign). In either case, a response becomes more likely.

Do you recall what happened when Little Albert

learned to fear rats through a process of classical

conditioning? After he acquired this fear, crawling

away was negatively reinforced by escape from

the now-fearsome rodent. The negative reinforce-

ment that results from escaping or avoiding some-

thing unpleasant explains why so many fears are

long-lasting. When you avoid a feared object or

situation, you also cut off all opportunities to ex-

tinguish your fear.

Understandably, people often confuse nega-

tive reinforcement with positive punishment, be-

cause both involve an unpleasant stimulus. With

punishment, you are subjected to the unpleasant

stimulus; with negative reinforcement, you escape

from it or avoid it. To keep these terms straight,

remember that punishment, whether positive or

negative, decreases the likelihood of a response;

and reinforcement, whether positive or negative,

increases it. In real life, punishment and negative

reinforcement often go hand in hand. If you use

a chain collar to teach your dog to heel, a brief

being paired with primary reinforcers and pun-
ishers. (If that reminds you of classical condition-
ing, reinforce your excellent thinking with a pat
on the head! Indeed, secondary reinforcers and
punishers are often called conditioned reinforcers
and punishers.) As a secondary reinforcer, money
has considerable power over most people’s be-
havior because it can be exchanged for primary
reinforcers such as food and shelter. It is also as-
sociated with other secondary reinforcers, such as
praise and respect.

Positive and Negative Reinforcers and
Punishers. In our example of the begging dog,
something pleasant (getting the lamb chop) fol-
lowed the dog’s begging response, so the response
increased. Similarly, if you get a good grade af-
ter studying, your efforts to study are likely to
continue or increase. This kind of process, in
which a pleasant consequence makes a response
more likely, is known as positive reinforcement. But
there is another type of reinforcement, negative
reinforcement, which involves the removal of some-
thing unpleasant. Negative reinforcement occurs
when you escape from something aversive or avoid
it by preventing it from ever occurring. If some-
one nags you to study but stops nagging when you
comply, your studying is likely to increase because
you will then avoid the nagging:

A+A+

Positive

reinforcer:

Good grade

Negative

reinforcer:

Nagging

ceases

Result:

Studying

increases

Behavior:

Studying

Likewise, negative reinforcement occurs when tak-
ing a pill eliminates your pain or when you take a
certain route across campus to avoid a rude person.
The positive–negative distinction can also
be applied to punishment: Something unpleas-
ant may occur following some behavior (positive
punishment), or something pleasant may be re-
moved (negative punishment). For example, if your
friends tease you for being an egghead (positive

positive reinforcement

A reinforcement proce-

dure in which a response

is followed by the presen-

tation of, or increase in

intensity of, a reinforcing

stimulus; as a result,

the response becomes

stronger or more likely to

occur.

negative reinforce-

ment A reinforcement

procedure in which a

response is followed by

the removal, delay, or

decrease in intensity of

an unpleasant stimulus;

as a result, the response

becomes stronger or more

likely to occur.