Primary and Secondary Reinforcers
Rewards such as stickers, praise, money, toys, and more can be used to reinforce learning. Let’s go back to Skinner’s rats again. How did the rats learn to press the lever in the Skinner box? They were rewarded with food each time they pressed the lever. For animals, food would be an obvious reinforcer.
What would be a good reinforcer for humans? Maybe for a child, it would be the promise of a toy if they cleaned their room, a piece of candy for every desired behavior, or even a big high-five after a job well done.
primary reinforcer
Primary reinforcers have innate, biological value. They naturally satisfy basic needs and require no learning.
Examples include:
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Food and water
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Sleep and shelter
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Physical touch and warmth
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Sex
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Pain relief or physical comfort
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Pleasurable sensations, such as jumping into a cool lake on a hot day
Because these reinforcers are tied to survival and basic drives, they remain powerful motivators across the lifespan—for both animals and humans.
secondary reinforcer
Secondary reinforcers gain value only because they are associated with primary reinforcers. A $20 bill won’t satisfy hunger by itself—but its value comes from what it can purchase.
Examples include:
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Money, which can be exchanged for food, shelter, entertainment, or status
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Praise and approval, which often signal social belonging
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Grades or extra credit
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Stickers, points, or badges
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Privileges, such as phone time or bonus minutes on a break
Secondary reinforcers are especially powerful in everyday learning environments. For example:
- A child might clean their room to earn a sticker.
- A college student might complete extra practice quizzes to earn participation points.
- A gamer might change their behavior to earn digital badges or streaks.
Secondary reinforcers can be great motivators. Sometimes smaller secondary reinforcers can be earned to work up to larger reinforcers, like in a sticker chart situation where a child gets a new toy for every 10 stickers. Entire behavior management systems, known as token economies, are built around the use of these kinds of token reinforcers.