Difference Between Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Positive vs Negative Reinforcement

Reinforcement, which is one of the fundamentals in operant learning, means the strengthening or increase of a particular response by the removal or delivery of a stimulus. Reinforcement comes in two types – positive and negative, and it very critical to understand the two procedures. Both the positive and negative reinforcements are used for developing children, elderly persons, teenagers, and people with different psychological issues.

Positive reinforcement refers to the delivery or presentation of anything positive whereas negative reinforcement refers to the removal, termination, or reduction of anything that is negative. Though the two are different processes, they have the same effect of reinforcing or strengthening particular behaviors.

With regard to positive reinforcement, it is a very effective and powerful tool for cultivating behavior. It is a type of reinforcement by which a person is given or presented some motivating thing which makes the person do that thing more in the future. For example, a little girl receiving some gifts for getting high scores, or a mother giving a child candy for cleaning up all the toys encourages them to do that thing again in the future.

Negative reinforcement is the removal or termination of a particular stimulus or item after some particular behavior is expressed. There is a possibility of the particular behavior to occur again in the future because of terminating or removing a particular thing. For example, a child who complains always of a headache to avoid doing homework and the parents allowing her to go to bed. There is a possibility that this could become a habit.

Positive reinforcement is just adding something for stimulating a response. Negative reinforcement is just removing something for increasing some kind of response.

Summary:

1.Reinforcement, which is one of the fundamentals in operant learning, means the strengthening or increase of a particular response by the removal or delivery of a stimulus.
2.Positive reinforcement refers to the delivery or presentation of anything positive whereas negative reinforcement refers to the removal, termination, or reduction of anything that is negative.
3.Positive reinforcement is a type of reinforcement by which a person is given or presented some motivating thing which makes the person do that thing more in the future.
4.Negative reinforcement is the removal or termination of a particular stimulus or item after some particular behavior is expressed. There is a possibility the particular behavior will occur again in the future because of terminating or removing a particular thing.

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