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Negative reinforcement consists of a stimulus that is withdrawn (subtracted) from the environment immediately after the response, so that the withdrawal serves to strengthen the response.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.

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)

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.

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.

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

The reinforcement details for all the corbels analysed herein are listed in Table 1.

Primary and secondary reinforcements in reinforced concrete corbels

MAC 360 FF serves as a noncorrosive, three-dimensional, secondary reinforcement alternative to conventional welded-wire reinforcement, small diameter bars and steel fibers.

BASF ADMIXTURE SYSTEMS

Certain experimental and theoretical research studies were also carried out on continuous beams with FRP reinforcement [1, 3, 4, 14-22], but not as much as they were carried out on simple beams.

Experimental Research of Continuous Concrete Beams with GFRP Reinforcement

Here: [eta]-reduction coefficient of concrete's compressive strength; [f.sub.cm]-concrete's compressive strength; b-width of the beam; [lambda]-reduction coefficient of concrete's compression zone height; x-concrete's compression zone height; [f.sub.y]-yield strength of tensile reinforcement; [A.sub.s1]-area of tensile reinforcement; [[sigma].sub.s2]-stress of compressive reinforcement; [A.sub.s2]-area of compressive reinforcement; d-effective depth of cross section; [d.sub.2]-depth of compressive reinforcement.

FLEXURAL REINFORCED CONCRETE ELEMENTS NORMAL SECTION BEARING CAPACITY EVALUATION IN FRACTURE STAGE

The first phase entails the reinforcement of an initial response (Response A).

Resurgence: the unintended maintenance of problem behavior

GFRP with a tensile strength of 480 MPa and Young's modulus of 50 GPa was used for the shear reinforcement plates.

Evaluation of Shear Strength of Concrete Flat Plates Reinforced with GFRP Plates

Farmer and Schoenfeld (1966a) studied the effects of an added neutral stimulus presented in different positions of a fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement (FI 1 min).

Varying temporal placement of a stimulus correlated with non-reinforcement in a temporally defined schedule

Keywords: Washing hands before meals; token economy; social reinforcement

WASHING HANDS BEFORE MEALS OF A LONG-STAYING HOSPITALIZED SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENT AND ITS TREATMENT THROUGH APPLIED BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY

In this study, an experimental and numerical investigation on the behaviour of low ductility class RC beam to column connections using spiral and conventional shear reinforcement systems under seismic loading, simulated by quasistatic cyclic loading, was conducted in the Laboratory of Structures and Materials, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

Seismic performance of RC beam-column connections with continuous rectangular spiral transverse reinforcements for low ductility classes

(i) The aqueous solution of the pores of the reinforcement is intensely alkaline due to lime, which is the product of reaction of the cement hardening, its pH between 12.5 and 13.9.

Statistics analysis measures painting of cooling tower

The equipment for producing the reinforcement was purchased for $1 million in 2010," he said.

Reinforcement producing plant operates in Kyzyk-Kiya town