Positive reinforcement: do I know it really well?

The principle of positive reinforcement is a fundamental aspect of life and knowing it well is useful in the educational, relational and working environment.

It can really make a difference.

How well do I know it?

A) The principle of positive reinforcement says that:

1. Unintelligent animals need rewards to learn;
2. If I make sure that a certain behavior is followed immediately and regularly by a certain stimulus, and then I observe that over time this behavior increases in frequency, then that stimulus can be called a reinforcer;
3. All I can use as a reward is positive reinforcement, which has the power to increase a person's ok behaviors;
4. If I, every time I see an ok behavior, reward it, I can increase the future frequency of that behavior, which is precisely reinforced.

B) The best reinforcement is:

1. The food;
2. The freedom to be able to do what I want;
3. It depends from person to person, I have to find out by "experimenting";
4. Everything that has to do with survival.

C) When I decide to try to reinforce someone, I have to be more careful about what?

1. To make sure that the ok behavior is followed regularly and immediately by the stimulus that I have chosen as a possible reinforcer;
2. To the size of the reward: it must be something very precious, like a bicycle at the end of a good school year;
3. With the knowledge of human nature;
4. With the preferences that the person I want to reinforce communicates to me.

D) Positive reinforcement is:

1. Inevitably a form of manipulation;
2. Something to use only in the area of ​​disability;
3. A part of our biological nature that we can use to improve life
4. Part of human cognition,

E) It is better to reinforce:

1. Behaviors;
2. The good deeds;
3. The positive qualities of people;
4. The most functional aspects of personality.

Let's see the answers:

1. In A, the correct answer is 2. Reinforcement is a process I discover. I cannot know a priori if a certain stimulus will be a reinforcer. I will know later: when I can observe that as a consequence of my actions, someone's behavior increases in frequency. I can decide to give a child a comic every time he does homework correctly and by four in the afternoon, but I will know that what I am doing is actually a process of positive reinforcement only when I can observe that the behavior of doing homework well is becoming much more frequent, at the expense of other behaviors such as getting distracted or twiddling.

And then, positive reinforcement is a fundamental part of the functioning of all living organisms with a nervous system. We humans are not special at all, whether we like it or not.

The correct answer to question B is 3. I can't know for sure that something works automatically as a reinforcer. It is much better to have an experimental attitude and not take anything for granted.

We come to question C. Experiments tell us that the effectiveness of a reinforcing stimulus depends on the immediacy, the value and the frequency with which it occurs.

In light of this, ten minutes a day of YouTube are more effective after doing your homework correctly than the bicycle as a promotion reward. 

Also, watch out for vague and smoky expressions like "human nature". And finally, consistently with what has been said above, instead of asking the person what  might be a good reinforcer, it is always preferable to observe empirically.

Let's analyze question D.

Reinforcement can also be a form of manipulation. It happens when from a behavioral change the only one to benefit from it is the one who reinforces, not the one who is reinforced.

If I reinforce a child's passive behavior, I am certainly manipulating him. But if I reinforce a child's social skills, we both benefit from it! It is not manipulation: it is health.

Then, of course, positive reinforcement is certainly a fundamental intervention tool in the area of ​​disability, but not only.

3 is the correct answer.

4: "human cognition" is a rather smoky expression. The brain certainly exists, "human cognition" is very ill-defined. Better to avoid similar expressions.

Here we are finally with question E.

Only behaviors can be reinforced.

The rest is poorly defined fog, insignificant words. Be careful to talk about things that really exist, and not about the concepts that humans invent and that often only confuse ...See  also it about this issue.