Reinforcement and Punishment with examples

 

Reinforcement and Punishment With Examples

 By Iqra Sageer | Updated on October 24, 2023

Reinforcement increases the probability of behavior. Punishment decreases the probability of behavior. Reinforcement can be positive or negative, and punishment can also be positive or negative.

Positive Reinforcement is a process that strengthens the likelihood of a particular response by adding a stimulus after the behavior is performed.

Negative Reinforcement also strengthens the likelihood of a particular response, but by removing an undesirable consequence.

Positive Punishment means giving an undesirable consequence after an unwanted behavior to make it less appealing. It aims to stop the behavior from happening again in the future.

Negative Punishment includes taking away a certain reinforcing item after the undesired behavior happens in order to decrease future responses. 

Examples of Positive Reinforcement

•       Receiving appreciation for good performance: A student receives praise and recognition from her mother for achieving an A grade on a test.

  ·        Going out if finishing chores: If you finish your homework, you can go out with friends to watch a movie as a reward.

  ·         Receiving ice cream for obedient behavior: Giving a child an ice cream when he exhibit quiet and obedient behavior during a shopping.

  ·         Obtaining compliments for cleaning room: A mother expresses her appreciation and compliments her child for successfully cleaning his room.

  ·         Bonus for extra ordinary performance: A worker receives a bonus for outstanding performance at work.

  ·         Rewarding pet for obeying command: A dog owner rewards his pet with a treat for obeying a command or performing a trick.

Examples of Negative Reinforcement

• ·         Taking pain killer to relieve from headache: When a headache is relieved by taking aspirin, it increases the likelihood of taking aspirin in the future to avoid or alleviate headaches.

  ·         Using umbrella to prevent from being wet: Carrying an umbrella when it starts to rain serves as negative reinforcement by reducing the discomfort of getting wet and making it more likely that you will bring an umbrella when it rains.

  ·         Using oven gloves to prevent being burned: Using oven gloves to prevent being burned is an example of negative reinforcement as it reduces the risk of burning oneself, which encourages the continued use of oven gloves when handling hot objects.

  ·         Less criticism for meeting deadlines: In a work context, when employees consistently meet their deadlines, they may receive less pressure or criticism from their supervisor, which is a form of negative reinforcement, encouraging them to continue meeting deadlines.

  ·         Reduce working hours for more productivity: In a manufacturing company, employees typically work for 8 hours. If an employee works exceptionally hard, a supervisor may reduce their working hours for the final week as a form of negative reinforcement to encourage greater productivity. This reduction in working hours acts as a reward for the employee's hard work and serves to reinforce their strong performance.

  ·         Completing homework to avoid being scolded: A student may complete their homework promptly to avoid being scolded or reprimanded by a teacher or parent. In this case, negative reinforcement is at play because finishing homework removes the aversive scolding experience.

Examples of Positive Punishment

• ·         Mother gives additional tasks for lying: This example represents punishment. The additional tasks given for lying serve as a punitive consequence, which aims to decrease the likelihood of lying in the future.

  ·         A toddler burned by a hot stove will be less likely to touch the stove again: This example demonstrates negative reinforcement. The painful experience of being burned acts as an aversive stimulus, and the child is less likely to touch the hot stove in the future to avoid the aversive consequence.

  ·         Student was assigned extra homework because he was late to school: This example demonstrates positive punishment. The punishment aspect lies in the fact that the extra homework serves as a penalty for being late.

  ·         The teacher verbally reprimands the student for interrupting the teacher: This is an example of punishment. The teacher's verbal reprimand serves as a punitive response to the student's behavior of interrupting, with the aim of reducing the likelihood of future interruptions through the application of an aversive consequence.

  ·         Time-Out for Misbehavior: A child is put in time-out as a consequence for throwing a temper tantrum. The removal of positive social interaction is used as a punishment to reduce the occurrence of the tantrum.

•       Getting a Parking Ticket for Illegal Parking: When a driver parks in a no-parking zone and receives a parking ticket, the monetary fine serves as positive punishment to deter illegal parking.

Examples of Negative Punishment

• • Driving privileges suspended: Your driving privileges are suspended for a year because you were caught driving drunk. The removal of driving privileges reduces the likelihood of drinking and driving.
  • Loss of TV privileges: A boy's TV privileges are revoked for pulling his sister's hair. The removal of TV privileges is intended to decrease the behavior of hair-pulling.
  • Removing recess time: The teacher removes recess privileges for a student who keeps interrupting the teacher. The withdrawal of recess privileges is used to diminish the behavior of interrupting the teacher.
  • Loss of Cell Phone Privileges: A teenager's cell phone is taken away for a week as a consequence for not completing their homework, resulting in a decrease in the likelihood of neglecting their schoolwork.
  • Loss of TV Time for Not Cleaning Room: A child loses their TV privileges until they clean their messy room, which acts as negative punishment to encourage tidiness.
  • Salary Deduction for Being Late to Work: An employee's salary is reduced for repeatedly arriving late to work, resulting in a decrease in the behavior of being late.
  
  

   Operant Conditioning