Question
Psychology
How do you distinguish reinforcement from punishment in operant conditioning?
Answer
Psychology
Expert Answer
In operant conditioning, reinforcement makes a particular behaviour more likely in future, whereas punishment makes it less likely. Positive means something is added after the behaviour, while negative means something is removed.
Positive does not mean kind, and negative does not mean harmful. The distinction concerns what happens after the behaviour and how this affects the likelihood of it happening again.
Identify the consequence and its effect
First identify the behaviour precisely: “submitting a practice task” is clearer than “being good”. Then ask two questions: what is added or removed, and does the behaviour subsequently increase or decrease?
The following hypothetical examples show the four types of consequence.
| Type | What happens after the behaviour? | Example and effect |
|---|---|---|
| Positive reinforcement | Something pleasant or desirable is added, making the behaviour more likely. | A student earns achievement points for submitting practice tasks. As a result, they submit tasks more frequently. |
| Negative reinforcement | Something unpleasant is removed, making the behaviour more likely. | Saving a document stops an irritating reminder sound. As a result, the student saves their work more promptly. |
| Positive punishment | Something unpleasant is added, making the behaviour less likely. | A teenager is given additional household chores after talking back to their parent. As a result, talking back becomes less frequent. |
| Negative punishment | Something pleasant or desirable is removed, making the behaviour less likely. | A player loses their next turn after breaking a game rule. As a result, rule-breaking becomes less frequent. |
In the reminder example, the behaviour being reinforced is saving the document. Removing the unpleasant sound makes saving more likely. This is negative reinforcement, not punishment, because the behaviour increases.
The effect matters more than the intention
What counts as pleasant or unpleasant can differ between people. A consequence intended as punishment may even reinforce the behaviour.
For example, a teacher publicly reprimands a student for calling out. The teacher wants calling out to decrease, but the student enjoys the attention. If calling out subsequently increases because it produces attention, the reprimand has acted as positive reinforcement.
Similarly, something described as a “reward” is only a reinforcer if it makes the behaviour more likely. An achievement badge that a student does not value may have no effect.
Applying the distinctions
For an exam scenario, identify what is added or removed and how the behaviour changes. Avoid classifying a consequence solely from what someone intended to achieve.
If the effect is not given, explain the condition: “The additional chores would function as positive punishment if they make talking back less likely in future.”
Try applying these distinctions to the dog-training scenario in the Psychology application questions. For each consequence, identify what is added or removed and whether the behaviour becomes more or less likely.
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