Rewards vs reinforcers
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I was told that a reinforcer in classical conditioning can be an aversive stimulus which is hardly a reward at all. In instrumental conditioning, Skinnerians were also against equating a reinforcer and a reward. Skinner believed that a reinforcer strengthened any behavior that immediately came before the introduction of the reinforcer, while a reward is something that is given for a worthy accomplishment.....So, based on some of these distinctions, rewards may not necessarily reinforce desired behaviors. They also tend to lose their reinforcement value over time....Any thoughts on the difference between rewards and reinforcers?
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The terms that psychology uses to describe experiments are much different than normal conversation. Sometimes the words have similar meanings but not completely the same. So, reinforcement in conditioning is something that increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated. A punishment is something that decreases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated. Negative means taking something away and Positive means adding something. So, you can have a negative reinforcement (removing an annoying sound) or a positive reinforcement (praise or a treat). You can have a negative ...
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