Essential Reading
This article from Educate Autism examines Negative Reinforcement and some of the common misconceptions. There are some useful diagrams that you may find beneficial.
Read the below exchange between an RBT student and her supervisor where they discuss the relationship between operant and classical conditioning:
Emma (RBT): Hi, Doctor! I was wondering if you could help me understand the difference between positive and negative reinforcement in ABA and how it differs from classical conditioning?
Keller (BCBA): Hello Emma! I’d be glad to help you with that. Positive and negative reinforcement are concepts in operant conditioning, which is a type of learning that focuses on behavior and its consequences. In ABA, positive reinforcement involves adding or presenting a positive stimulus immediately after a behavior to increase the likelihood of that behavior happening again in the future. This can be something like praise, a token, or a preferred item/activity.
Emma: I see. So, positive reinforcement is about adding something pleasant to increase the behavior. But what about negative reinforcement?
Keller: That’s correct! Negative reinforcement, on the other hand, involves the removal or avoidance of an aversive stimulus immediately following a behavior, resulting in an increase in the frequency of that behavior. It’s important to note that negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment. Negative reinforcement focuses on removing something aversive to increase the behavior, while positive punishment aims to decrease behavior by adding an aversive stimulus and negative punishment involves removing something pleasant to decrease a behavior. But you?ll learn about that later in your studies.
Emma: Thank you for clarifying that, Doc! So, positive and negative reinforcement are both meant to increase behavior, while punishment is meant to decrease it. And these concepts are different from classical conditioning, right?
Keller: Yes, exactly! Classical conditioning, which was first studied by Ivan Pavlov, involves the association between a neutral stimulus and a reflexive response. It doesn’t directly focus on behavior and its consequences like operant conditioning does. In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus, leading to a conditioned response. Operant conditioning, on the other hand, focuses on the relationship between behavior and its consequences.
Emma: I see the difference now. Thank you for explaining that, Doc!
Keller: You’re welcome, Emma! Understanding the principles of operant conditioning, including positive and negative reinforcement, is essential for implementing effective behavior change strategies. Keep exploring and learning, and feel free to ask more questions if you have any!
Optional Video
This 3-minute video from Side by Side provides a concise explanation of reinforcement, examines some misconceptions and gives examples about how it is often used by RBTs who work with autistic children.
Conversation Exercise
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If you have not already, read this article to learn how to get the most from your learning conversation with FRED.
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