Pros and Cons of Negative and Positive Reinforcement

This is called operant conditioning. Operant conditioning typically has both a reinforcer and punishment. A stimulus that increases the occurrence of a response is a reinforcer. As to presenting an unpleasant stimulus to decrease the occurrence is a punishment. An example of a negative reinforcement would be the car beeping to signal to fasten a seatbelt. Some of us are quicker than others to put on a seatbelt when first entering a car. If that car signals that you have not put on your seatbelt in a timely fashion, you may hear that annoying “ding ding” as a reminder. Until your seatbelt is fastened, the annoying noise will continue as a negative stimulus. Now, in the future if you’re ever in the car and you fasten your seatbelt immediately because you want to avoid the “ding ding”, you may just realize it’s just because you have been conditioned to do

Negative reinforcement is removing an unpleasant consequence when a behavior is exhibited in order to encourage said behavior. This was shown when

On the contrary, negative punishment is a method that also contributes to weakening a behavior though it lessens or eliminates something pleasant. It involves taking away something desirable or good from an individual in order to discourage him/her from engaging in a particular behavior. For instance, one of my classmate’s phone rang in class despite being told by teachers not to bring our phones to class. Consequently, the teacher took away the phone from my classmate in order to discourage that behavior. The ethical concern that may emerge from using negative punishment is that it does not teach the victim of undesired behavior how to change his/her behavior.

2. Negative reinforcements – this also makes children repeat behaviour but in different ways e.g.: If a child does well in an exam therefore they don’t have to do their chores.

Reinforcement is an essential part in identifying and encouraging a certain behavior. In the most classic definition, positive reinforcement is a method of identifying to children which behaviors are acceptable and appropriate and which are not (Sigler, E. & Aamidor, S, 2005). Reinforcement is often given as praise for doing a certain task. As educators, saying “great job” or a simple word like “fantastic” are expressed towards students as praise. However, when a student is struggling and praise is given such as “you are doing so well”, the negative aspects of praise present themselves. The child is aware of the empty praise therefore it may work against the teacher if it is taken as a false

Removal, reduction in intensity or delay in the onset of an aversive stimulus that is produced directly because of the students actions. This type of reinforcement is not dependent on others behavior.

Punishment has occurred when a response is followed immediately by a stimulus change to decrease the future frequency of the behavior. Positive punishment aids in the decrease in the problem behavior. Reprimand is one of the most common forms of positive punishments. A firm "No" or "Stop" delivered immediately on the occurrence of an undesirable behavior will significantly reduce the chance of the behavior being repeated in the future.

Positive reinforcement is a very compelling and efficient tool to help form and change habits. Positive reinforcement works by imparting a motivating item to the individual after the preferred behavior is exhibited, making the behavior more likely to happen sooner than later. An instance of this tactic would be Jimmy getting $10 for each A he earned on his report card. The definition

First, I am presented with the sound of a friend smacking gum. The sound serves as the discriminative stimulus for punishment. This causes me to react with internal disgust. To decrease the future possibility of hearing them smack gum again, I stop hanging out with them. This situation is an example of positive punishment; I wish to reduce my chances of feeling disgusted from the sound by removing myself from the situation.

e. Positive reinforcement presents an encouraging element to an individual after a wanted behavior is demonstrated. It helps to make the wanted behavior more likely to occur again in the future. An example of this is when a mother gives her child a treat after cleaning up his room. The child is more likely clean his room in the future because he received positive enforcement for performing the desired behavior.

Positive and negative reinforcement can be used in simple cases as well as the more challenging cases to modify a behavior. Human service workers and parents can use operant conditioning to change the way a child acts in the classroom. If a child continues to interrupt the classroom environment, negative reinforcement such as placing the child by his or herself instead of with friends can be used to deter the behavior. Likewise, if the desired behavior is acknowledged or rewarded, the good behavior will likely continue. This behavioral modification technique also can be used with someone looking to overcome substance abuse. The individual should have a stimulus that he or she can focus on to make the change. If one is trying to overcome substance abuse to gain custody of his or her children for example, positive reinforcement can be used when the individual reaches certain desirable goals. Negative reinforcement, such as losing the opportunity to see the children if there is a slip on recovery can give that person the incentive to quit the negative behavior and work toward bettering his or her life.

An example of negative reinforcement would be You keep on yelling at john to clean his room until he does. The yelling should get him to clean his room so he doesn’t have to listen to it next time.

When it comes to inspiring behavioral changes positive reinforcement is more effective than punishment in terms of changing the behavior in the long term. How effectively positive reinforcement affects behavioral changes is closely tied to how behavioral changes are incentivized and rewards bestowed. The case is similar for the application of negative reinforcement. However, rewards and punishments must significantly affect a person’s current situation--for better or worse--in order to inspire change. Let’s look at how positive reinforcement typically results in long-term behavioral change more effectively than punishment overall.

     There are two forms of reinforcement: positive and negative reinforcement. When an event occurs producing a positive effect, it is considered positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement involves the removal of a stimulus increasing the likelihood of a positive effect. An example of this would be to take two aspirins to remove the pain from a headache.

Negative reinforcement and forms of punishments like reprimands and social isolation can help alter behavior, but should be used with caution. Teachers can reinforce desirable student behavior through attention, recognition, praise and other reinforcers. An article entitled "Food For Thought: Teacher Nonverbal Immediacy, Student Learning, and Curvilinearity" touched on immediacy behaviors as a type of reinforcer.