Reinforcement is the process by which a stimulus increases the probability that a preceding behavior will be repeated. The principle of reinforcement is a psychological concept based on the idea that the consequences of an action will influence future behavior. Rewarding behavior is considered reinforcement, because it teaches the subject that the behavior is desired, and encourages the subject to repeat it. Punishing a behavior, on the other hand, teaches the subject that the behavior is not desired, and should not be repeated. Punishment and reinforcement are an important part of operant conditioning, used in many psychological experiments. In the case of both reinforcement and punishment, the experimenter makes changes to the environment of the subject. It is important for the researcher to have total control over the environment, as other factors can influence the behavior of the subject, potentially throwing off the operant conditioning. The most successful reinforcement training occurs in a laboratory, which has closed conditions. There are actually two types of reinforcement: positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement refers to introducing a new stimulus to the subject's environment in order to reward desired behavior. For example, a child might be given a balloon after behaving well at the dentist, or a rat might learn to press a bar for a treat. Positive reinforcement associates a pleasant outcome with the desired outcome. Negative reinforcement, on the other hand, involves removing an unpleasant stimulus from the environment. For example, a mouse entering a cage with an electrified floor would quickly learn to press a button if the current was stopped every time the button was pressed.
B) Name the schedules of reinforcements?
In operant conditioning, schedules of reinforcement are an important component of the learning process. When and how often we reinforce a behavior can have a dramatic impact on the strength and rate...