Operant Conditioning: Learn It 2—Reinforcement

Reinforcement and Punishment

In operant conditioning, reinforcement increases behavior, and punishment decreases behavior.

However, the terms positive and negative often cause confusion because in everyday life they suggest “good” and “bad.”

In psychology, they mean something very different.

Reinforcement can be positive or negative, and punishment can also be positive or negative. All reinforcers (positive or negative) increase the likelihood that a behavioral response will occur again. All punishers (positive or negative) decrease the likelihood that a behavioral response will occur again.

  • Positive = you add something
  • Negative = you remove something
  • Reinforcement = behavior becomes more likely
  • Punishment = behavior becomes less likely
Table 1. Positive and Negative Reinforcement and Punishment
  Reinforcement Punishment
Positive Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Something is added to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.
Negative Something is removed to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.

Reinforcement

Reinforcement is the most powerful tool for teaching or strengthening behaviors. Let’s look at both types. The most effective way to teach a person or animal a new behavior is with positive reinforcement.

positive reinforcement

In positive reinforcement, a desirable stimulus is added to increase a behavior. For example, you tell your five-year-old child that if they clean their room, they will get a toy. They quickly clean their room because they want a new art set.

Paid for Grades?

We know that positive reinforcement as a learning tool is extremely effective, but should money be used to incentivize schoolwork? One way to increase achievement in school districts with below-average reading scores was to pay the children to read. Specifically, second-grade students in Dallas were paid $2 each time they read a book and passed a short quiz about the book. The result was a significant increase in reading comprehension (Fryer, 2010).

What do you think about this program?

Skinner would have loved this approach—he was a strong advocate of shaping behavior through reinforcement. His teaching machine (Skinner, 1961), an early version of computer-assisted learning, rewarded students for small steps toward mastery.

Recent studies show that small recognition-based rewards, such as certificates, public praise, or digital badges, can be as effective as cash—especially for younger students.

Studies find that incentives boost effort and engagement, but the gains often fade once the rewards are removed, suggesting limited effects on long-term or intrinsic motivation.[1]

Small, immediate rewards—monetary or not—tend to work best for younger students, while older students and college learners show modest, temporary benefits that do not reliably improve deeper learning or retention. Overall, incentives can help jump-start participation, particularly in under-resourced settings, but they are not a substitute for developing students’ internal motivation to learn.[2]

negative reinforcement

Negative reinforcement occurs when an undesirable stimulus is removed to increase a behavior. It does not mean “punishment”—it means something unpleasant stops because you did the desired behavior.

Some examples of negative reinforcement include:

  • Seatbelt reminders:

    • Your car beeps repeatedly until you buckle your seatbelt. When you buckle up, the annoying beeping stops. Removing the unpleasant sound increases your seatbelt use.

  • Horse training:

    • A rider applies pressure with their legs or reins (unpleasant stimulus). When the horse turns or speeds up, the pressure is released. Removing the pressure reinforces the horse’s behavior.

Think of a behavior that you have that you would like to change. How could you use behavior modification, specifically positive reinforcement, to change your behavior? What is your positive reinforcer?
  1. Fryer, R. G., Jr. (2011). Financial incentives and student achievement: Evidence from randomized trials. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126(4), 1755–1798. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjr045 ↵
  2. Burgess, S., Metcalfe, R., & Sadoff, S. (2021). Understanding the response to financial and non-financial incentives in education: Field experimental evidence using high-stakes assessments. Economics of Education Review, 85, 102195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2021.102195 ↵