Positive Reinforcement
1.add
2.consequence
3.increase
Behavior

Consequence
1. cry

mother appears
yes
2. smoke

peer approval
yes
double pay
yes
listener reactions
yes
friendly voice
yes
3. work overtime 
4. gossip

5. answer phone
B b/c BC ?
1.Jenny and Rob have become good friends
since they first met at school in September.
For Christmas, Jenny buys Rob the new
Dylan CD that he has been constantly
talking about for the past month.
2.Marla kisses her son, Jimmy, goodnight
and tells Jimmy that she loves him.
3.Mike is an autistic child who sometimes
engages in excessive object twirling. To
stop this, Angie, his caretaker, yells “No!”
whenever she sees him doing this.
Unbeknownst to her, as a result of her
“treatment,” Mike is even more likely to twirl
objects when she is around.
4.After Ronald promises his daughter $5 for
cleaning her room, she complies.
Negative Reinforcement
1.remove
2.consequence
3.increase
Behavior
 Consequence
B b/c BC ?
1. close window  noise/wind stops
yes
2. hang up phone rudeness stops
yes
3. pay bill
 late charges prevented
yes
4. excuse
 date prevented
yes
5. cry
 leave table
yes
Positive Punishment
1.add
2.consequence
3.decrease
Behavior

Consequence
1. swear

reprimand
yes
2. smoke

peer disapproval
yes
trip and fall (pain)
yes
burn
yes
unfriendly voice
yes
3. run down stairs 
4. touch stove

5. answer phone 
B b/c BC ?
Negative Punishment
1.remove
2.consequence
3.decrease
Behavior
 Consequence
1. hit sister
 TV privilege canceled
yes
2. gossip
 listener leaves
yes
3. talk in class
 recess canceled
yes
4. complain
 meal taken away
yes
5. mark textbook  cannot return to store
B b/c BC ?
yes
Primary reinforcer (punisher)
 stimulus that functions as reinforcer (punisher) without
prior conditioning
o E.g., food, water, stroking of skin, comfortable
temperature; pain, extreme heat or cold
Secondary reinforcer (punisher)
 stimulus that functions as reinforcer (punisher) due to
prior conditioning
 prior conditioning entails pairing the stimulus with an
already established reinforcer (punisher)
o E.g., money, praise, applause, good grades,
awards, gold stars, (demits), (catcalls), (scolding),
(fines), (bad grades)
*NO universal reinforcer or punisher
o food?
o money?
o praise?
o reprimand?
o violent shaking / turned upside down?
o shock?
o blows to the head?
Consequential Stimulus
Added
Removed
Increase
Positive
Negative
Reinforcement Reinforcement
Effect on
behavior
Decrease
Positive
Punishment
Negative
Punishment
EXERCISE – Operant Conditioning
1. John complained of his problems every once in a while.
One day John complained to his friend and they had a
long talk. Now, John is more likely to complain about his
problems to his friend.
2. Jake ran on the deck, slipped and fell, and bumped his
head. Now, unlike before, he never runs on the deck.
3. Peggy hated Bob’s long-winded explanations. During
one exchange, she began daydreaming and was able
to tune him out. Now, once he starts explaining
something, she is more likely to daydream.
4. Callers had been able to call directory assistance
without charge. Then the telephone started charging 20
cents per call. The citizens were outraged and lodged
more complaints than normal.
Continuous reinforcement (CRF)
 every instance of a particular behavior is reinforced
 Example: B (step of brakes)  C (car stops)
Intermittent reinforcement
 some instances of a particular behavior are reinforced
 greater resistance to extinction than CRF
Fixed ratio (FR)
 constant # of instances produce reinforcer
 Effect: post-reinforcement pause, then high rate
 Example: piece-work in factories
Fixed interval (FI)
 1st instance after constant interval produces reinforcer
 Effect: scallop
 Example: check for newspaper
Variable ratio (VR)
 variable # of instances produce reinforcer
 Effect: high, constant rate
 Example: gambling
Variable interval (VI)
 1st instance after variable interval produces reinforcer
 Effect: moderate, constant rate
 Example: phone friend
10. What is the best way to discourage a friend…
Reinforcement
B (interrupt)  C (conversation)
Extinction
B (interrupt)  no C (no conversation)
 make sure not to give in occasionally, or else…
11. How do trainers teach guide dogs to perform…
Paradox
 How can you reinforce a behavior that never occurs?
Shaping
 successive approximations of a desired response are
reinforced
Successive approximations
 behaviors that are ordered in terms of increasing
similarity or closeness to the desired behavior
Problems w/ Punishment
A (mom): B (draw on walls)  C (severe reprimand)
1. aversive stimuli evoke anxiety, fear, rage, escape
 E.g.1, US (severe reprimand)  UR (fear)
 E.g. 2, B (“I hate you!”)  C (severe reprimand stops)
2. paired stimuli elicit anxiety, fear, rage, & escape
 E.g. 1, CS (mom)  CR (fear)
 E.g. 2, B (“I hate you!”)  C (mom leaves)
4. stimulus control
 E.g., drawing on walls decreases only when mom home
5. failure to consider factors influencing its effectiveness
 E.g., “Wait until your father gets home!”
6. punishment conveys little information
 What is desired alternative behavior?
7. failure to consider effect on behavior
 E.g., does reprimand decrease behavior?
8. punishment can become addictive
 E.g., B (severe reprimand)  C (drawing on walls stops)
9. failure to consider what’s causing the behavior
 E.g., if attention deprived, attention may be reinforcer
17. Does watching violence of TV make people more…
Evidence for:
 100s of corroborating Bandura’s early work
 meta-analyses
o correlation b/w exposure to TV/movie violence and
aggression
 when children cut back on their time watching TV or
playing video games, aggressiveness declines
Critics:
 children have many other influences
 most regard the game as just fun and go off and do their
homework
 # of violent video games increased in 1990s, but overall
rates of teenage violence actually declined
 cause-effect may work in opposite direction
o aggressive people are drawn to violent shows
 troubled persons may find justification for acts based upon
anything they see
Conclusion
 both sides are right
o does have an influence and influence is neither
strong nor universal
Identify the Schedule
1. B (look at watch during one-hour lecture) 
C (see time indicating lecture is over)
2. B (play game against evenly matched opponent) 
C (win game)
3. B (address a question to person who always makes you
repeat yourself) 
C (person answers your question)
4. B (check for email messages) 
C (new message)
5. B (talk) 
C (hear the sound of your voice)
Choices
FR
FI
VR
VI
CRF