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REINFORCEMENT

Sociologyindex, Sociology Books 2011, Punishment, Reinforcement, Operant conditioning, Classical conditioning,

Reinforcement is a process in which a behaviour is strengthened; increasing the probability that a response will occur by either presenting a contingent positive event or removing a negative event. Reinforcement is the central concept and procedure in the experimental analysis of behavior and much of quantitative analysis of behavior.

Skinner argued that reinforcers are defined by a change in response strength, and that which is a reinforcer to one person may not be to another.

Positive reinforcement is an increase in the future frequency of a behavior due to the addition of a stimulus immediately following a response.

Negative reinforcement is an increase in the future frequency of a behavior when the consequence is the removal of an aversive stimulus.

Avoidance conditioning is a form of negative reinforcement that occurs when a behavior prevents an aversive stimulus from starting or being applied.

Origins of Antisocial Behavior - Negative Reinforcement and Affect Dysregulation of Behavior as Socialization Mechanisms in Family Interaction
James Snyder, Lynn Schrepferman, Wichita State University
Carolyn St. Peter, Arizona State University
Behavior Modification, Vol. 21, No. 2, 187-215 (1997) DOI: 10.1177/01454455970212004
Theoretical models specifying the contribution of two social-familial mechanisms, negative reinforcement and affect dysregulation, to the development of child antisocial behavior were tested using a sample of 57 8-to 13-year-old boys referred for treatment of conduct problems. Negative reinforcement of boys' aggressive behavior and boys' affect dysregulation were found to covary with the boys' irritability toward parents and siblings and were reliable predictors of a composite measure of child antisocial behavior, defined by out-of-home placement, arrests, and school discipline incidents 2 years later. Reinforcement of aggression and affect dysregulation during family interaction may play complementary roles in the development of antisocial behavior by fostering the use of coercive means of dealing with social conflict. The findings are discussed in terms of research strategies for identifying social mechanisms contributing to child psychopathology and of implications for modification of cunrent family interventions targeting child antisocial behavior.

Behavioral Momentum - Implications and Development From Reinforcement Theories
Joseph J. Plaud, George A. Gaither, University of North Dakota
Behavior Modification, Vol. 20, No. 2, 183-201 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/01454455960202003
Historical and contemporary theories of reinforcement, as well as the clinical application of reinforcement principles to behavior modification and therapy, are critically analyzed and discusssed. A new behavioral approach to studying the allocation of behavior under changed environmental constraints, termed behavioral momentum, is also presented. Whereas traditional behavioral analysis has emphasized the role of response rate as an index of response probability and response strength, more recent studies have addressed the persistence of behavior under altered environmental conditions and reinforcement contingencies. In terms of behavior modification and therapy, issues such as generalizability and relapse prevention have major implications for the type and length of behavioral intervention strategies employed. The behavioral momentum model analyzes operant behavior not only in terms of its response rate but also in relation to its persistence under changed environmental constraints. The authors discuss the applicability of this recent addition to reinforcement theories in context of its implications for behavior modification and therapy.
 

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