Rewards and Recognition: Understanding Positive Reinforcement in Psychology

What is positive reinforcement? This means using positive punishments to encourage a person to build up certain behaviors. Which is a very famous subject area in psychology. The method has been used to teach and support good habits and behaviors. If you are familiar with Psychology, you may have heard of this. In psychological terms, positive reinforcement is a pleasant stimulus after an action. The method was found by one of the greatest psychologist B.F Skinner who discovered the four types of conditioning, which are,

Edward Thorndike was the psychologist who first studied ‘operant conditioning.’. Operant condoning is the method which consists of learning methods. These methods involve punishments and reward systems. Operant conditioning has four types of topics, which are,

1.positive reinforcement-

2.positive punishment

3.Negative reinforcement

4.Negative punishment

Examples of positive reinforcement

· Getting a promotion at the workplace when you work hard

· Getting a good comment when you work hard at your yoga class

· Getting a gift when you get a good mark in your exams

Positive reinforcement is used,

1. Used as a positive parenting method.

2. Used to encourage positive behaviors- e.g. This occurs naturally, which means when you hold the door for somebody to come, they will praise you by saying ‘thank you.’ And may make it more likely to happen again in the future.

3. Train animals — dogs- training them to wait until they get to eat and eat only when asking them to eat. Teaching them is so much easier when it’s fun for them. For that, positive reinforcement can be used.

What are the types of positive reinforcers?

1. Natural reinforcers — which comes as a direct result of their behaviors such as, students study hard and does well on exams, which gives a good grade as a result.

2.Token reinforcers- achieve to exchange something you value, such as getting good grades to get an iPhone.

3.social reinforcers — gain others approval, such as getting a good grade to get good comments such as ‘good job’, ‘excellent.’

4.Tangible reinforcers — Getting actual physical rewards such as treats, toys, gifts

When used correctly, positive reinforcement has a lot of practical benefits. It’s most effective when it’s used just after the behavior happens. PR is something that a person would prefer or happy to receive. It has become a very famous method than any other reinforcement methods.

The four types of conditioning methods have used in teaching, training, and efficiently managing behaviors. Positive reinforcement is a very successful, rewarding way. It has been used in a variety of ways and in different contexts. To train children, pets or adults.