Reinforcement

Reinforcement (Sr), as advanced by B.F. Skinner and over 40 years of experimental operant research, is a fundamental principle of learning. It describes the functional relationship between a behavior and its consequence. In simple terms, behaviors are learned (i.e., strengthened or made more likely to occur) when they are followed by pleasant outcomes. By contrast, behaviors are not learned (i.e., weakened or made less likely to occur) when they are followed by unpleasant outcomes. In more technical terms, reinforcement is defined as the process of strengthening behavior (increasing or maintaining the future rate or probability of behavior) through consequent stimuli. Thus, a reinforcer is any consequent stimulus that increases or maintains a behavior.

Categories of Reinforcement

Reinforcers may be classified as “primary” or “secondary.” Primary (or unlearned) reinforcers are said to be “naturally” motivating to an individual; they obtain their reinforcing value through biological...