The Basics of Reinforcement What is Reinforcement and

The Basics of Reinforcement

What is Reinforcement and Reinforcers? Reinforcement is something(a stimulus) added or taken away that increases a behavior. Reinforcers are those stimuli that are either added or taken away. If something is added we call this Positive Reinforcement. For example if we go to work all week and receive a paycheck on Friday, We are (most likely) going to return to work the following week to receive a paycheck again. The paycheck is something added that increases the behavior. If something is taken away we call this Negative Reinforcement. For example if you have a headache you take a pain reliever, the headache is removed, the next time you have a headache you will take the pain reliever. Reinforcers are different for everyone and can change depending on the day, time, mood, etc. , of the individual.

Common Reinforcers are different for each individual. . . what one person finds reinforcing another may find aversive…. some people may love social praise and receiving that makes them want to contribute to class more, others may social praise mortifying and it makes them want to sit in the back and not participate! Here are some common reinforcers: ● ● Treats/candy Time on electronics (computer, Ipad, Iphone) Social praise/interaction Money (We go to work to earn a paycheck!)

Schedules of Reinforcement There are many factors that determine the “schedule of reinforcement” (how often the reinforcement will be delivered and how much). These factors include: ● ● ● Difficulty of the task demand ○ For task that require more effort a larger reinforcer may be needed. For example a person might sweep one room $1. 00, but if you ask them to sweep, vacuum, and mop that room for $1. 00 that $1. 00 as reinforcement might not be enough to get the job done. Age and developmental level of the individual ○ For younger individual or developmentally young individuals receiving reinforcement upon completion of a task(delayed gratification) might not be effective. In these cases reinforcement is most effective when delivered in smaller amounts more frequently. For example we might give a small bite of candy every minute the individual is engaging in the desired behavior rather than the whole candy bar at the end of the task. Comfort/competency of the individual with the task ○ When we are teaching new behaviors or skills it is important to provide frequent reinforcement. As individuals become more comfortable and skills develop we can decrease the frequency of the reinforcement. For example, if toothbrushing is a new skill we are teaching, we would start by reinforcing each step of the toothbrushing chain. As the individual becomes better and better at toothbrushing we could decrease to reinforcing every two or three steps.

Schedules of Reinforcement Continued. . . Depending on the factor discussed on the previous slide, the schedule in which we deliver the reinforcement will vary. There are two main schedules of reinforcement: Continuous or Intermittent. ● Continuous reinforcement means that reinforcement is delivered after every correct response or every occurance of the behavior. ● Intermittent reinforcement means the reinforcement is delivered after a certain number of responses or time period. ○ ○ Fixed Ratio- reinforcement delivered after a set number of responses Variable Ratio- like a slot machine, reinforcement is unpredictable/not on a set schedule Fixed Interval-reinforcement is delivered at a set time (i. e. , every 2 minutes) Variable Interval-reinforcement is delivered within a certain time frame (i. e. , reinforcement is delivered between 2 and 5 minutes. . . sometimes its 2 minutes other

How You Can Use Reinforcement at Home Here are some ideas on how you can use reinforcement while your kids are home: ● ● ● If your children are participating in online school activities, prior to starting have your child pick something to earn when the activity is over. Go over the “rules” for gaining access to the reinforcer, the teacher might have already set rules, or you can write down what you expect from your child in order to earn (follow directions, stay in your seat, etc. ) If you have multiple children in the house you could set up a reinforcement system for each one or they could work together to earn something larger at the end of the week. . . for example if everyone does their chores every day on Friday night they get to have something special. These are very general ideas. . . Please feel free to contact us if you would like to talk about specific reinforcement systems for your child.