Week 4 (3)
TOPIC: REINFORCEMENT AND PUNISHMENT
What is Reinforcement and Punishment?
• Types: Reinforcement , Punishment and
schedules of Reinforcement.
• Application in school context.
LP: B.Ed II (4Yr.)
•
Tuesday 24th August, 2010
In a perfect world, our students could
•
Be on time to class
•
Be prepared for class and know how to study
•
Know how to behave
•
•
Respect everyone in class with them…including the teacher…
So, what is the alternative?
We must provide some type of reinforcement for the behavior.
Choices:
(1) Positive Reinforcement
(2) Punishment
(3) Negative Reinforcement
(4) Extinction
What is Reinforcement?
Means to strengthen, and is used in psychology to refer to
anything stimulus which strengthens or increases the
probability of a specific response.
Types:
i. Positive Reinforcement: Occurs when a behavior in response
to a situation is met by a 'reward’. (Adding something in order
to increase a response).
ii. Negative Reinforcement: Taking something away in order to
increase a response.
What is positive reinforcement?
Scenario: Johnny is always late for class
because his gorgeous girl friend’s class is at the
other end of the hall and he has to see her. You
mention to him that it is important to get to
class on time. The next day he is on time to
class. When he does this, you………………..
• Say to yourself, “Finally,” and do not
acknowledge him because he is finally doing
what everyone else does.
• Give him a pat on the back and say, “It’s
good to see you here on time!”
• Embarrass him by saying,” Well, finally!
Look who’s here!”
If you use positive reinforcement, you would….
•
Choose b. Pat him on the back and tell him
you are glad to see him.
•
Reasoning: You are asking him to give up
something that is important to him……time
with the girlfriend. If that positive
encounter is not replaced by another, he will
return to his previous behavior.
•
What are the chances he will continue being
on time?
i. Punishment: Adding Something aversive in order to decrease
a behavior.
i. Extinction: When you remove something in order to decrease
a behavior.
Dennis says it all……..
“So, Dad, what will you give me if I leave Mr. Wilson alone?”
Types of reinforcement
• Verbal reinforcement
• Gestural reinforcement
• Proximity reinforcement
• Activity reinforcement
• Token reinforcement
Principles of reinforcement
 Meaningfulness – value & time
 Variety –‘variety is the spice of life’
 Warmth and enthusiasm – wholeheartedly
Reinforcement Schedules
A. Continuous Schedule: Application occurs after every
project, behavior, etc. This is the best approach when
using punishment.
a. Fixed Ratio. Applying the reinforcement after a specific
number of behaviors.
b. Fixed Interval. Applying the reinforcer after a specific
amount of time.
B. Variable Schedule: When reinforcement is applied on
an irregular basis.
a. Variable Ratio: Applying a reinforcer after a variable
number of responses.
b. Variable Interval. Reinforcing someone after a variable
amount of time.
SCENARIO ………….
John is a “blurter.” Every time you
ask a question, he yells out the
answer. Dirty looks do not help.
Finally, you keep him after class
and discuss his immature behavior
with him. The next day he
frantically raises his hand when you
ask a question. You………
SCENARIO CONTINUED…..
(1) Ignore him because he is finally
doing the “right” thing and others are
finally getting to answer.
(2) Call on him at the end of class.
(3) Call on him immediately and tell
him privately how much you
appreciate his improved behavior.
Methods for Encouraging behavior – Positive Reinforcement
1) Praise: Teachers can improve student behavior by praising
students who are following rules and ignoring rule-breakers.
2) The Premack Principle: A high-frequency behavior (a
preferred activity) can be an effective reinforcer for a lowfrequency behavior (a less-preferred activity).
3) Shaping: Reinforcing progress instead of waiting for
perfection.
4) Positive Practice: A strategy for helping students replace one
behavior with another is positive practice.
What is Punishment?
Is a negative consequence – physical or emotional, or
both, administered because of wrong or bad behavior.
“Punishment might control misbehavior but does not
teach desirable behavior”
i. Presentation Punishment: It occurs when the
appearance of a stimulus following the behavior
suppresses or decreases the behavior.
ii. Removal Punishment: When teachers or parents
take away privileges after a child has behaved
inappropriately, they are applying removal
punishment.
Risk of Punishment
 The use of punishment of any kind may damage the
relationship the child has with the teacher.
 The child may develop strategies such as untruthfulness
to avoid punishment.
 Punishment teaches the child the undesirable lesson that
it is acceptable for the strong to impose penalties upon
those weaker than themselves.
In certain cases, punishment is necessary, but only
after reinforcement oriented behavior modification
has repetitively failed.
Remember
“Punishment might control misbehavior
but does not teach desirable behavior”
KEY LEARNING………

To change a behavior permanently,
the positive reinforcement must
continue until the behavior becomes
natural.
This is why we often fail to help a
student change a behavior…..we don’t
reinforce the behavior long enough.