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reinforcement

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reinforcement

 [re″in-fors´ment]
the increasing of force or strength. In the psychological theory of behaviorism, presentation of a stimulus following a response that increases the frequency of subsequent responses. This is central in operant conditioning.



Positive reinforcement consists of a stimulus that is added to the environment immediately after the desired response has been exhibited. It serves to strengthen the response, that is, to increase the likelihood of its occurring again. Examples of such reinforcement are food, money, a special privilege, or some other reward that is satisfying to the subject.

Negative reinforcement consists of a stimulus that is withdrawn (subtracted) from the environment immediately after the response, so that the withdrawal serves to strengthen the response.
reinforcement of reflex strengthening of a reflex response by the patient's performance of some unrelated action during elicitation of the reflex.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

re·in·force·ment

(rē'in-fōrs'ment),
1. An increase of force or strength; denoting specifically the increased sharpness of the patellar reflex when the patient at the same time closes a fist tightly or pulls against flexed fingers or contracts some other set of muscles.
See also: Jendrassik maneuver.
See also: reinforcer, schedules of reinforcement, classical conditioning, operant conditioning.
2. In dentistry, a structural addition or inclusion used to give additional strength in function; for example, bars in plastic denture base.
See also: reinforcer, schedules of reinforcement, classical conditioning, operant conditioning.
3. In conditioning, the totality of the process in which the conditioned stimulus is followed by presentation of the unconditioned stimulus, which itself elicits the response to be conditioned.
See also: reinforcer, schedules of reinforcement, classical conditioning, operant conditioning.
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

reinforcement

(rē′ĭn-fôrs′mənt)
n.
1. Something that reinforces.
2. Psychology
a. The occurrence or experimental introduction of an unconditioned stimulus along with a conditioned stimulus.
b. The strengthening of a conditioned response by such means.
c. An event, circumstance, or condition that increases the likelihood that a given response will recur in a situation like that in which the reinforcing condition originally occurred.
The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

reinforcement

Psychology Any activity, either a reward-positive reinforcement, or punishment-negative reinforcement, intended to strengthen or extinguish a response or behavior, making its occurrence more or less probable, intense, frequent; reinforcement is a process central to operant conditioning. See Contingency reinforcement.
McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

re·in·force·ment

(rē'in-fōrs'mĕnt)
1. An increase of force or strength; denoting specifically the increased sharpness of the patellar reflex when the patient at the same time closes the fist tightly or pulls against the flexed fingers or contracts some other set of muscles.
2. dentistry A structural addition or inclusion used to give additional strength in function (e.g., bars in plastic denture base).
3. conditioning The totality of the process in which the conditioned stimulus is followed by presentation of the unconditioned stimulus that itself elicits the response to be conditioned.
See also: reinforcer
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

reinforcement

A term used in learning theory and in behaviour therapy that refers to the strengthening of a tendency to respond to particular stimuli in particular ways. In classical conditioning, the occurrence or deliberate introduction of an unconditioned stimulus along with a conditioned stimulus; in operant conditioning, a reinforcer is a stimulus, such as a reward, that strengthens a desired response.
Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005

re·in·force·ment

(rē'in-fōrs'mĕnt)
In dentistry, structural addition or inclusion used to give additional strength in function; e.g., bars in plastic denture base.
Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions © Farlex 2012
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References in periodicals archive
Escape from the demands of a difficult task or relief from an undesirable situation are types of negative reinforcement for a social behavior.
Wolfgang, author of Solving Discipline and Classroom Management Problems, notes that positive reinforcement is not always good for a student, and negative reinforcement is not always bad.
Barbara is one of thousands of employees who experience the daily frustration of working for a boss who uses negative reinforcement to motivate subordinates.
"Negative reinforcement. I can go there if I have to, but I don't like it," she said.
BAC (the preferred acronym, which is actually Bank of America's stock ticker symbol) apparently has a very effective marketing indoctrination program--so effective, in fact, that I started to wonder if it involved negative reinforcement by electric shock.
The notions that thinness represents an ideal to which one strives and that fat is something derogatory to be avoided are consistent with the concepts of positive and negative reinforcement. There is a tendency to engage in activities and behaviors, such as attention, admiration, and perceived respect from others, that offer positive reinforcement (Higgins, 1997; Schultz & Schultz, 1994).
In tins article, I wish to show that despite all the evidence that positive rather than negative reinforcement is more effective at eliciting changes in behaviour, UK government policy remains grounded in a punitive approach so far as tackling anti-social behaviour is concerned.
My teaching technique of negative reinforcement, by telling him, "Don't do this," was intended to keep him from making a mistake.
We analyzed the total number of flowers approached and fed upon, the mean times of nectary "discovery" and probing duration, and the total time spent foraging, for both days using repeated measurements ANOVA, to test the hypothesis that negative reinforcement reduces foraging intensity.
Negative reinforcement is a process that involves the removal of something aversive to increase the probability of the behavior that preceded it.
If negative, direct comments often are effective for the expert teacher, and positive, (usually nonspecific comments) are ineffective for the novice or non-expert teacher--how do we go about training the beginning or non-effective teacher in the use of positive and negative reinforcement? Perhaps we should focus our greatest efforts on teaching our teachers how to be effective in their use of rate (quick pacing with more time for trying again and again), content (specific negative feedback on performance skills, not social behavior) and specificity (exactly what is good, and exactly what needs work).
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