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Psychology vocabulary · Learning and Behaviour

Reinforcement

Meaning in psychology, with examples

/ˌriːɪnˈfɔːsmənt/nounCore term

In psychology, reinforcement means: In learning theory, any consequence that makes a behaviour more likely to happen again, either by adding something pleasant or by removing something unpleasant.

In Turkish: pekiştirme

How it is used

Central to operant conditioning and behaviour therapy. Positive reinforcement adds a reward; negative reinforcement removes something unpleasant. Teachers, parents and behaviour analysts talk about schedules of reinforcement and the reinforcers that work for a child.

Example sentences

  1. Praise worked as positive reinforcement, and the child started to tidy up more often.

  2. Avoidance is maintained by negative reinforcement, because it brings immediate relief from anxiety.

Common collocations

  • positive reinforcement
  • negative reinforcement
  • schedule of reinforcement
  • intermittent reinforcement
  • operant conditioningLearning in which behaviour changes because of its consequences: actions followed by reinforcement become more frequent, and actions followed by punishment become less frequent.
  • behaviourEverything a person or animal does that can be observed, such as actions, reactions and habits, often studied as a response to the environment.
  • classical conditioningA type of learning in which a neutral stimulus, after being paired many times with a stimulus that naturally causes a response, comes to cause a similar response on its own.
  • motivationThe forces that start, direct and keep up behaviour towards a goal, such as needs, desires, rewards and personal values.

More terms: Learning and Behaviour

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