The main difference between reinforcement and punishment is that reinforcement makes a target behavior more likely to happen again while punishment makes the behavior less likely to happen again. Show
Reinforcement and punishment are often used as parenting tools to modify children’s behavior. Let’s review the difference between positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement, and the difference in outcomes between them.  Table of Contents
The Difference Between Positive And Negative ReinforcementIn behavioral psychology, reinforcement is the introduction of a favorable condition that will make the desired behavior more likely to happen, continue or strengthen in the future1. Because the favorable condition acts as a reward, reinforcement is a reward-based operant conditioning. There are two types of reinforcement: positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. These two types of reinforcement can be confusing because the technical terms used in psychology is often misrepresented in pop culture. As technical parlance, positive refers to adding a factor while negative refers to removing a factor. But positive and negative do not represent the quality of the factor being added or removed. That factor can be pleasant or unpleasant. For instance, positive can be adding something unpleasant resulting in unpleasant feelings, while negative can be removing something unpleasant resulting in pleasant feelings. So, remember that positive and negative refer to adding and removing something, not to the quality of the added/removed factor or the resulted feelings. Related: Classical Vs Operant Conditioning What is positive and negative reinforcementThe 2 types of reinforcement are:
Positive ReinforcementPositive reinforcement is adding a pleasant stimulus to enhance a behavior. Here are some positive reinforcement examples.
Negative ReinforcementNegative reinforcement is removing an aversive stimulus to enhance a behavior. Here are some negative reinforcement examples.
Positive Punishment vs Negative PunishmentWhile the goal of reinforcement is to reinforce the desired behavior, the goal of punishment is to make an undesired behavior less likely to happen, continue or strengthen in the future. As with reinforcement, the technical meanings of positive and negative punishment refer to adding or removing a factor to obtain the results. They do not refer to the quality or impact of the punishment. What Is Positive And Negative PunishmentThe 2 types of punishment are:
Positive PunishmentPositive punishment is adding an aversive stimulus to deter a behavior.
Negative PunishmentNegative punishment is removing a pleasant stimulus to deter a behavior.
Both reinforcement and punishment can modify behavior. The difference between them is that reinforcement aims to increase target behavior while punishment aims to decrease behavior. These definitions differ from the way we use it in daily life. Normally, we use “reinforce” in a speech to mean “emphasize”, while “punish” to mean “hurting”. Here are the definitions and difference of reinforcement and punishment in psychology:
Often times, decreasing an undesired behavior can also be achieved by increasing another desired behavior. For example, both punishing for being late for school and rewarding for being on time can incentivize a child to be on time. Because of the negative side effects of punishment (in the traditional sense, i.e. introducing unpleasant stimulus), parents should practice positive parenting. However, parents should also be careful not to overuse reinforcements because too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Schedules of ReinforcementReinforcement and punishment are usually applied more than once to establish a new behavior. When and how stimuli are applied are called schedules of reinforcement2. There are 4 types of simple schedules:
Different types of reinforcing schedules generate different results. Among the four simple schedules, variable ratio schedule generates responses that are most resistant to extinction. References
What is the similarities between positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement?Similarities Between Positive and Negative Reinforcement
The primary resemblance is their main goal, which is to increase the likelihood of the desired behavior. Both of these concepts are related to operant conditioning. Similar elements also influence the success rate of these two types of reinforcement.
What do negative reinforcement and positive punishment have in common?Both methods are employed to influence behavior, but positive punishment looks to remove or decrease a “bad” behavior while negative reinforcement seeks to encourage or increase a “good” behavior. For example, spanking a child when he throws a tantrum is an example of positive punishment.
What is the relationship between positive and negative reinforcement?They argue that production of a stimulus (positive reinforcement) always involves escape from a situation (negative reinforcement) in which the stimulus was absent; removal of a stimulus (negative reinforcement) always involves production of a situation (positive reinforcement) in which the stimulus is absent.
How are negative reinforcement and negative punishment similar?Remember, negative reinforcement and punishment are not the same thing, punishment seeks to decrease the likelihood of a certain behavior from happening again and negative reinforcement actually increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring.
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