Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement and Punishment Explained

Historical Foundations of Behavioral Psychology

Although B.F. Skinner is most commonly associated with behavioral psychology, it was Edward Thorndike who set the stage for the field. Thorndike's Law of Effect (1901)—the principle that successful behaviors tend to be repeated while unsuccessful ones do not—laid the groundwork for modern theorists, alongside the influential work of Pavlov (1927). From this foundation, we now understand that reinforcement always increases the probability that a behavior will occur or be repeated (Skinner, 1953).

Reinforcement: Positive and Negative

Positive reinforcement involves providing a stimulus to increase a behavior, most often through the use of a reward such as food or praise. Negative reinforcement, by contrast, typically involves the removal of an aversive stimulus—such as a noise or pain—in order to increase the probability that a behavior will occur or be repeated (Skinner, 1953). Negative reinforcement is often confused with punishment, but the two techniques serve completely different functions. Whereas reinforcement, whether positive or negative, always increases the chance that the preceding behavior will be repeated, punishment always decreases the probability that the behavior preceding its implementation will recur (Skinner, 1953).

Positive punishment, or punishment by application, involves the application of an aversive stimulus to decrease the future occurrence of a behavior. Negative punishment, or punishment by removal, involves the removal of a positive stimulus or event with the intent of decreasing the recurrence of future behaviors (Skinner, 1953).

Applying Reinforcement in Everyday Life

Most of us are not behavioral psychologists, yet we apply these techniques quite often in our daily routines, especially when dealing with children. For instance, I recently had the experience of babysitting my five-year-old nephew, Edward. Edward is quite a mischievous child and does not like to sit still—he is a whirlwind of activity. During our time together, I needed Edward to sit still and watch television for about an hour while I ironed clothes in the other room. Edward was not thrilled about this, and it was very difficult to keep him seated. He was running all over the house, knocking things over, and making noise.

I had a box of mini ice-cream sandwiches in the freezer, so I devised a plan. I placed a clock on top of the television and told Edward that if he sat still for every 10-minute interval, I would give him an ice cream sandwich. I showed him where the clock hand would need to be before he could earn the first one, and he sat there like a little angel. Once the hand reached its mark, he called out to me, I brought him a sandwich, and he ate it happily. I showed him where the hand would need to be for the next reward and returned to ironing. This worked well for about 40 minutes, which was all the time I needed. One problem with reinforcements of this kind is that they lose their reinforcing value fairly quickly—after three or four sandwiches, Edward was no longer excited about the next one—but this positive reinforcement exercise served its purpose.

My mother is an expert at the use of negative reinforcement, though she knows very little about the formal distinction between reinforcement and punishment. Every Wednesday is trash day in our neighborhood, and most people put their trash out on Tuesday evening. My mother is a stickler for getting things done early; my father, on the other hand, is much more relaxed. He would be perfectly content putting the trash by the curb just as the garbage truck pulled up at 7:00 AM. Not so with my mother. Every Tuesday afternoon it would begin: "Are you going to get the trash out by morning, dear?" she would ask. "You remember that time in July of 1999 when you forgot to put the trash out and it stank up the garage all week? I hope we don't have to deal with that smell again." My father would try to watch television and ignore her. Peering out the window, my mother would remark, "Well, I see that the Wilsons already have their garbage out—good for them, they don't wait until the last minute." This nagging would continue until my father finally got up and put the trash at the curb. Interestingly, he has not missed a trash pickup since July of 1999.

Conclusion

The methods of operant conditioning as described by B.F. Skinner and his followers offer effective tools for shaping, controlling, and modifying behaviors, as well as explanations for how people learn and behave the way they do. These methods of reinforcement and punishment can also be useful in child-rearing when applied properly and thoughtfully.

References

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall.

Millera, A., Fergusona, E., & Simpsona, R. (1998). The perceived effectiveness of rewards and sanctions in primary schools: Adding in the parental perspective. Educational Psychology, 18(1), 55–64.

Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. Macmillan.

Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned reflexes. Oxford University Press.

Thorndike, E. L. (1901). Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the associative processes in animals. Psychological Review Monograph Supplement, 2, 1–109.