What is reinforcement?
Reinforcement is something that occurs after a behavior that increases the behavior in the future. Simply put, if that behavior occurs again or more often in the future, reinforcement occured. If the behavior does not increase or occur more often in the future, then reinforcement did not occur.
Reinforcement can increase “good” or desired behavior such as, getting ice cream after a day of cleaning the house, or earning extra TV time for doing homework quickly. But keep in mind, reinforcement can accidentally increase undesired behavior. This may include hitting increases because the sibling then walks away, or tantruming occurs because someone takes away a demand.
Reinforcement can be…
- Things: Such as toys, playing video games, watching tv
- Food: Such as treats, drinks, candy
- Activities: Such as swimming, jumping on a trampoline, building a fort
- Attention: Time with a friend, praise/high fives, likes on social media,
- Avoiding or escaping a task or instruction: Not having to do homework, getting out of dish-duty
Why is this important?
- Reinforcement is an essential part to learning.
- All people use reinforcement everyday to reward others or themselves for a job well done.
- Reinforcement comes in hundreds of forms and can be applied in thousands of ways.
- Adults reward themselves by going out to dinner after a long week at work.
- Parents reinforce children eating their vegetables by giving ice cream after dinner.
- Kids reinforce sharing by giving their toys to friends or siblings after being asked nicely.
- The key to successful reinforcement is the use of effective reinforcers. They must “work”.
- Providing effective reinforcement is not always easy- this can be one of the most challenging aspects of effective intervention
Types of Reinforcement Systems
Besides naturally occurring reinforcers, many children use and may need more explicit systems in place that set expectations as to exactly how and when reinforcement is delivered. These systems are things such as:
- First – Then
- Token Boards
- Points Systems/Level Systems
- Behavior Contracts
- Group Contingencies
- Self-Management
How do I make reinforcement more effective?
Don’t forget, if reinforcement isn’t “working” it is not being implemented correctly. The following principles of reinforcement will increase the effectiveness of your reinforcement system:
- Immediacy – How quickly a reinforcer is delivered.
- The more immediately a reinforcer is delivered, the more powerful it will be in changing behavior.
- This teaches children exactly what skills they are receiving reinforcement for without even saying anything!
- Magnitude – How much of the reinforcer is delivered.
- Increase the magnitude of a reinforcer when a skill is done REALLY well. Be careful, too much all the time will increase the likelihood of satiation
- Quality – How preferred the reinforcer is.
- The more highly preferred, the more likely it is to increase behaviors. Save the highest quality (most preferred) reinforcers for the most difficult tasks!
- Pairing new items and activities is a great way to increase variety of a child’s reinforcers
- Recognize when reinforcers lose their effectiveness (a child gets satiated!). Kids may get bored with what they have or are offered, and they also may get “too much of a good thing”/
- Rate – How often reinforcers are delivered.
- If you are teaching a brand new skill, a child may need a reinforcer for every instance it occurs.
- As a child learns a skill, start to slowly fade the rate reinforcement is given
- Intermittent (every so often) reinforcers help strengthen skills a child already can do.
Written by Rebecca Pikula M.Ed., BCBA
References:
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill
Prentice Hall.