What is a negative strengthening?
Negative strengthening is a concept that is part of the theory of operational conditioning, theory developed by psychologist B.F. Skinner. Negative strengthening, positive strengthening, punishment and extinction are four methods that affect behavior in this theory. Although many people associate negative strengthening with punishment, this is simply not true. Instead, negative strengthening is used to stimulate some positive behavior by eliminating the negative stimulus.
This concept is best illustrated by an example; Ordinary is a rat in a cage. When the rat is placed in a cage, it can get a small electric shock, but if the rat squeezes a small lever, the electric shock stops. The electric shock is a negative stimulus, and when the lever is repeatedly pressed, the negative stimulus is removed. The rat learns quickly, through a negative reinforcement to squeeze the lever and stop the shocks. It is not a punishment; Instead, this is an example of a removal stimulus leading to the desired behavior.
This may also happen if someone for exampleIt is stuck in operation. Operation is a negative stimulus. If this hypothetical person learns that leaving for work earlier prevents stuck in operation and repeats this pattern with positive results, this is an example of negative strengthening. This type of fitness can be used, among other things, in a number of situations, including home, class or animal training.
On the contrary, positive strengthening is a similar concept, but it has to add the desired item rather than removing a negative stimulus. For example, if a child completes all his homework, he could receive a sticker. The sticker is an example of positive strengthening because it is added rather than withdrawing, as in negative strengthening.
Remember that punishment is not a type of negative strengthening. Using an example of homework, if a child does not do homework, could be punished by staying inside for a niche or missing a class trip. The child then combines a penalty with orThe fact that he does not do his homework and theoretically starts doing homework to avoid punishment. The use of these types of conditioning the operator can help affect behavior for better; It is generally believed that the most effective technique is to strengthen, but negative strengthening can be very effective in some situations or with some personalities.