Reinforcement

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Reinforcement
Always functions to increase behavior. There must
be a functional relationship between the behavior
and the consequence (reinforcement). A
maintenance or increase of the desired behavior
must be observed in the future.
Positive reinforcement The contingent
presentation of or the offering of something
perceived as positive, desired, or valued used to
increase a desired behavior.
Negative reinforcement - - The contingent
withdraw of or the taking away of something
perceived as negative or undesirable used to
increase a desired behavior.
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Praise for sitting quietly Not getting yelled at for being quiet
Interest in your checking account for having a certain balance Not having to pay a penalty for getting a bill in on time
Scoring a goal by being in the right place to catch the ball Not having to go into the penalty box for playing by the rules
Getting to start a game because you worked hard during practice Not getting hit in the face by wearing a face mask
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Rules to think about when using reinforcment

• Make the reinforcer contingent The student
  must ONLY get the reinforcer after performing the
  target behavior. IFthen.
• Makes the behavior and the consequence explicit

• Make the reinforcer immediate The student
  must make the connection between doing the
  behavior and the reward. Immediate reinforcement
  also avoids the hazard of inadvertently
  reinforcing an intervening behavior.

• Make the reinforcer meaningful Different
  strokes for different folksone person pleasure
  is anothers poison.

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Types of reinforcers
Social Smiling, a handshake, nodding yes,
clapping, a pat on the back, thumbs up, nice
job, Way to go, Yeah team, Group 1 has
finished, have you?
Tangible Stickers, a note home, blue ribbons,
Black belt
Physical Activity Extra minutes swimming,
playing favorite game, extra minutes playing not
practicing
Privileges Squad leader, captain, collecting
equipment, help teacher during study hall
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Schedules of Reinforcement
Different schedules of reinforcement affect a
students behavior
Continuous reinforcement EVERY occurrence of the
desired behavior is reinforced. Good luck! This
type of reinforcement makes the student fairly
dependent or satiated on the reinforcer. Use in
developing a new behavior (shaping) or where the
occurrence is initially low. A shift must be made
to a more natural reinforcement schedule as soon
as possible or extinction will occurr.
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Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement Two
types Ratio or interval schedules and fixed and
variable
Ratio schedules of reinforcement are determined
by the NUMBER (ratio) of times the behavior
occurs. FIXED RATIO After you complete three
hundred yards of warm-up.. After you complete
8/10 free throws. After you read four pages in
your book
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VARIABLE RATIO
In a variable ratio schedule, the student is
reinforcer at an unpredictable rate. One time
(series) it will be 5 or 8 or 3 or 10. The
unpredictability of the reinforcement keeps the
students behavior high and constant, because
they have no idea when the next reinforcer will
come.
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Interval schedules of reinforcement are based on
time. One occurrence of the behavior must be
exhibited during a specified period of time.
FIXED INTERVAL After every five minutes if.
VARIABLE INTERVAL Similar to the variable ratio
schedule in that it is unpredictable to know when
the reinforcer comes.
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One variation is a limited-hold contingency A LH
restricts the time that is available to receive
the reinforcer after the interval has been
achieved After 5 minutes of running, you have 2
minutes to get a drink. There is a time when the
reinforcer is available and when it is not.
All schedules of reinforcement are purposeful and
temporary. More natural reinforcers and schedules
help students to maintain behavior.
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Examples of Positive ways to increase behavior
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