Reinforcement

Synonyms

Adding; Reinforcing stimulus; Strengthening; Supporting

Definition

Reinforcement is defined as strengthening a specific response (Skinner, 1963). For example, imagine a scenario where a mother is attempting to teach her child with autism to say the word “bubble.” Every time the child attempts to say the word “bubble” on command, the mother might, strengthen the response by blowing bubbles, thus reinforcing the behavior. Moreover, reinforcement is responsible for the continued performance of the behavior that has been acquired (Skinner, 1963). There are two types of reinforcement: positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is strengthening a behavior by rewarding an attempted response (Baltruschat et al., 2011; Fisher et al., 2005). The bubble scenario described above is an example of positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement, on the other hand, is strengthening a behavior by removing a stimulus (Fisher et al.). For example, if a child with...