What is the name of the process by which behavior leading to the removal of an aversive event strengthens the behavior?

B.F. Skinner, an American phycologist who studied behaviorism, first introduced the term negative reinforcement in his Operant Conditioning theory. Skinner found that when using negative reinforcement, a behavior is strengthened by stopping, removing, or avoiding a negative outcome or aversive stimulus (Skinner, 1963, Operant Behavior).

Índice

• Negative Reinforcement Examples
• What Negative Reinforcement is Not
• When to Use Negative Reinforcement

To support this theory, Skinner conducted experiments on negative reinforcement by placing a rat in a Skinner Box and subjecting it to a sequence of mild electrical shocks. The rat moved around the box and then bumped into the lever that would turn off the electrical current. The consequence of the action (not being shocked) reinforced the behavior (flipping the lever switch).

Skinner found that the rats learned to avoid the electrical shock by flipping a lever before the current ever started. They learned that when a light came on, the electric current would start, so they learned to press the lever immediately.

Negative reinforcement includes one of the following in response to the behavior:

• Something is removed
• Something is terminated
• Something is reduced
• Something is postponed

The goal is that through the removal, termination, reduction, or postponement, the aversive event will not occur.

Negative Reinforcement Examples

As humans, we use negative reinforcement every day, and may not realize it.  See the following examples:

You go to the beach on a hot, sunny day. The fear of sunburn causes you to slather on sunscreen beforehand. Your fear of getting sunburnt is the aversive stimulus. The positive outcome is no sunburn.

Your kids start doing their chores without being asked (positive outcome) to avoid you nagging them to do chores (aversive stimulus.)

You discover a new route to work that takes less time and features less traffic than your normal route (aversive stimulus). You start driving this route to save time (positive outcome).

A teacher eliminates homework if his students work hard and accomplish their tasks in class. In turn, the students work harder and are more productive (positive outcome), so they won’t have to do homework (aversive stimulus).

What Negative Reinforcement is Not

To understand what negative reinforcement is, let’s look at what it is not.

• Negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment.  
• Negative reinforcement is not the opposite of positive reinforcement.
• Negative reinforcement does not reinforce negative behavior.

First of all, negative reinforcement and punishment are not the same things. Negative reinforcement involves the removal of something negative to strengthen a behavior. On the other hand, punishment involves either imposing something undesirable or taking away a positive stimulus to weaken or eliminate a behavior.

For example, a child lies about doing his chores, so his parents give him extra chores. Extra chores are an undesirable consequence to eliminate the behavior of lying.

Another example: a teacher takes away a student’s recess because she was talking too much in class. Here the teacher takes away something positive (recess) to eliminate the student from talking too much in class.

Negative reinforcement is not the opposite of positive reinforcement.

Sometimes negative and positive reinforcement are mistaken for opposites. However, they are not; both negative and positive reinforcement share the same end result: to increase a behavior.

Positive reinforcement focuses on giving a favorable stimulus to receive the desired response. For example, if your child completes all his homework, he can play on his iPad. The child is positively reinforced with the use of the iPad; therefore, he completes his homework.

Positive reinforcement refers to the delivery of something positive, whereas negative reinforcement refers to the removal or reduction of something negative. While they are different processes, they both have the same effect of reinforcing certain behaviors.

Negative reinforcement does not reinforce negative behavior.

Negative reinforcement for behavioral reinforcement is not negative at all. The term “negative” in this sense simply means “to take something away.”

Likewise, negative reinforcement does not reinforce negative behavior. It reinforces the behavior that removes the negative stimulus. Removing this stimulus creates a positive outcome.

When to Use Negative Reinforcement

Negative reinforcement is most effective in strengthening a desired behavior and should be used immediately following a behavior. If too much time lapses between the behavior and reinforcer, the response may not be effective.

Negative reinforcement can be applied anywhere:

• Self
• Child development/Parenting
• Classroom setting
• Work environment
• Family/Friend relationships
• Training pets

Negative reinforcement can be used in any situation where behavior change needs to occur. You can use it on yourself (you do every day without even realizing it). For example, when you take a shorter route to work to avoid traffic, or you apply sunscreen to avoid sunburn.

It is also effective in a classroom setting, although some researchers say positive reinforcement should be emphasized, and negative reinforcement should be used carefully.

While effective, negative reinforcement is best for immediate behavioral changes. Positive reinforcement is more applicable for long-term sustained behavioral changes.

Reinforcement theory is a psychological principle suggesting that behaviors are shaped by their consequences, and that individual behaviors can be changed through reinforcement, punishment and extinction.

Behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner was instrumental in developing modern ideas about reinforcement theory. According to Skinner, a person's internal needs and drives are not important areas of concern because their current behaviors follow the law of effect and are based on the consequences of former behaviors. This means that behaviors can be altered or manipulated over time.

The reinforcement theory of motivation aims to motivate staff through reinforcement, punishment and extinction. Reinforcement theory in the workplace can be positive or negative as long as it reinforces the desired employee experience and behavior. Managers using reinforcement theory to motivate staff should explain to employees which behaviors will result in positive feedback.

Here are several behavioral concepts that are common in business management, human resources management, marketing, social media, website and user experience design, and end-user training.

Positive reinforcement

A key idea in the reinforcement theory of motivation is that positive reinforcement with rewards reinforces desired behaviors. For example, providing an employee with extra days off for good performance in their job.

Negative reinforcement

Negative reinforcement involves the removal of aversive stimuli to reinforce the target behavior. For example, a manager can stop assigning tedious tasks to an employee when the employee starts meeting deadlines.

Punishment

Positive punishment involves the delivery of an aversive stimulus, such as criticism, to affect behavior. Meanwhile, negative punishment removes a pleasant stimulus -- flexible work hours, for example -- to do the same.

Extinction

Like punishment, the goal of extinction is to lower the occurrence of undesired behaviors. In this scenario, valued consequences can be withheld to reduce the probability of a specific learned behavior from continuing. The idea is to stop a learned behavior over time. For example, an organization might stop paying overtime to discourage employees from staying late and working too many extra hours.

However, extinction can also reduce desired behavior by not offering positive reinforcement when the desired behavior occurs. For example, if a manager stops praising an employee for completing tasks quickly, the employee might stop this behavior. To avoid unwanted extinction, managers must continue to reward desired behaviors.

Examples of how reinforcement theory principles can be used in the workplace.

Like the reinforcement theory of motivation, differential reinforcement theory proposes that people are more likely to continue behaviors that are reinforced and discontinue behaviors that are not.

A reinforcement schedule describes the timing of the behavioral consequences of a given behavior. There are two broad types of reinforcement schedules -- continuous reinforcement and intermittent reinforcement.

Continuous reinforcement

When behavior is reinforced every time it occurs, this is called continuous reinforcement. A continuous reinforcement schedule is the quickest way to establish new, desired behaviors or eliminate undesired behaviors. However, continued reinforcement isn't practical for a corporate environment, so employers tend to apply intermittent or scheduled reinforcement in corporate settings.

Intermittent reinforcement

Intermittent reinforcement involves the delivery of rewards on an occasional and unpredictable basis. This approach tends to promote the continued efforts of an employee for more extended periods without a payoff.

Slot machine payouts are an example of intermittent reinforcement, as they provide adequate rewards over time to keep players motivated. Similarly, managers can use a lottery system to reward employees. When employees meet a specified performance level, they become eligible to enter a lottery. This approach could produce the desired higher level of performance from employees.

Leading intermittent reinforcement theories include the following:

• Fixed-interval schedule. Fixed-interval schedules reinforce desired behaviors in accordance with a set time. For example, weekly paychecks follow a fixed-interval schedule. However, fixed-interval schedules are not considered the best approach to achieve the desired behavior, since they are often subject to rapid extinction.
• Fixed-ratio reinforcement. The purpose of a fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement is to use an action multiple times to achieve a desired outcome. For example, a mouse can be trained to press a button three times to get a reward. Once the mouse understands the relationship between the action and the prize, it will push the button three times to receive a reward. Similarly, if a manager pays a factory worker for manufacturing a set number of products, the worker will repeat this process to receive the payment. Fixed-ratio punishments can also be used to discourage undesired behaviors. For example, "three strikes and you're out." But while fixed-ratio schedules can help when teaching a new task, they can also lead to burnout.
• Variable-interval schedule. Variable-interval reinforcement schedules reinforce desired behaviors over varied periods of time. This helps elicit behavioral change without the risk of extinction. For example, promotions and performance recognition at the workplace tend to fall under a variable-interval schedule.
• Variable-ratio reinforcement. The variable-ratio reinforcement schedule changes the number of desired behaviors needed for reinforcement depending on the situation. Special awards and bonuses in an organizational setting are excellent examples of how a variable-ratio reinforcement schedule can be used in the workplace. Variable-ratio reinforcement can also produce a desired behavioral change that is highly resistant to extinction.

Developed by renowned British psychologist Jeffrey Alan Gray, reinforcement sensitivity theory suggests that there will be individual differences in the way people respond to punishment and reinforcement stimuli due to unique sensitivities of the brain. Proponents of the theory believe that these differences underlie the personality dimensions of conditions like anxiety, extraversion and impulsivity.

The reinforcement theory of learning is a popular iterative process in machine learning. In this case, smart algorithms try to maximize some value based on rewards received for making the right decision under uncertainty.

See also: Guide to building an effective employee experience strategy

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What is the name of the process by which Behaviour leading to the removal of an aversive event strengthens the Behaviour?

Which process decreases a behavior in the future by introducing an aversive stimulus as a consequence to the behavior?

What is the removal of a pleasant stimulus called?

Which reinforcement involves the removal of something to strengthen a behavior?