Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Student’s Name

Institution

Question One

a.)Explain automatic reinforcement and provide a novel example of it.

Automatic reinforcement is reinforcement that occurs independently of another individual ( ). That is, an outside party is not involved with the behavioral function. Without the sole involvement of an individual, they can reinforce a specific behavior, not as a reflex but as a response that is delivered automatically. Turning on the television myself is an example of an automatic reinforcement. However, if I had asked one of my friends to turn it on, that would have been a different kind of reinforcement.

b.) Explain why the following statement is false: A conditioned reinforcer is called “generalized” because it reinforces a wide range of behaviors.

A conditioned reinforcer is a neutral action or stimulus that strengthens a particular behavior. The stated assumption is false because a generalized conditioned reinforcer does not reinforce multiple behaviors. Instead, it is backed up by several other sources of reinforcement ( ). In other words, this type of support is paired with different conditioned and unconditioned stimuli to exert an augmenting effect on a particular behavior. Unlike unconditioned reinforcers that solely rely on one incentive, this event is as a result of learning.

c.) Diagram a novel example of a reinforcement contingency. Include all of the components of the four-term contingency.

The four-term contingency is a fundamental entity under operant conditioning. It illustrates the relationship of four key components; the Motivating Operation (MO), which entails the Establishing Operation (EO), and Abolishing Operation (AO). Also, it encompasses the Discriminative Stimulus (SD), the Response, and the resulting consequence (SR+) ( ).

Question Two

a.)Define positive and negative reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement is adding or presenting a reinforcing stimulus that increases the chance of a particular behavior to occur in future ( ) – action is augmented by continually providing an attractive incentive. On the other hand, negative reinforcement is defined as the removal of a stimulus that increases the future likelihood of the response at hand ( ). In simpler terms, the behavior is strengthened by avoiding or stopping an aversive stimulus.

b.) Contrast positive and negative reinforcement.

Positive and negative reinforcements differ in several ways. First and foremost, positive reinforcement produces a stimulus that was absent during response, while negative reinforcement terminates a stimulus that was present before responding ( ). Positive reinforcement focuses on a stimulus with pleasant consequences, unlike the negative reinforcement, which deals with unpleasant stimuli. Positive reinforcement is more of a rewarding process, while negative reinforcement acts as a penalty.

c.) Give a novel example of how negative reinforcement could be used to teach appropriate behavior.

As stated above, negative reinforcement dwells on terminating negative stimuli so as reinforce a particular behavior. Accordingly, the target behavior is bound to increase. For instance, a mother constantly complains and rebukes her children to clean their room. The children embark on their cleaning to make all the reprimanding stops. Now they regularly ensure that their rooms are clean and the mother is no longer complaining. In this case, the target behavior is cleaning the room.

d.) Define and give a novel example of an unconditioned negative reinforcer and a conditioned negative reinforcer.

Unconditioned negative reinforcers are stimuli whose termination strengthens the response without prior learning. Some of the examples include; intense light and extreme temperatures. These stimuli do not require previous information on the individual’s reaction in order to be removed. On the other hand, conditioned negative reinforcers are stimuli that are paired with the unconditioned reinforcers. A good example is parental nagging or reprimands.