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The Fundamental Concept of Positive Reinforcement

Positivity is a cultivating force that sets a route for a human’s behavior to be directed through. When it comes to having a behavioral analysis the most widely applied principle is positive reinforcement. If someone is ignited by a certain behavior then he/ she will continually do it if they want a certain outcome. Reinforcement to a stimulus which is in a positive form will make one person repeat the same thing that made him get what he wanted in the first place. Positive in this relation is not referred to something good but it rather means addition. It is the reward you get that makes up positive reinforcement. Inappropriate behavior disrupts the learning capabilities of an individual. Moreover, it might also make one’s life difficult in the society and among their peers. To get a logical and sustaining outcome you need to create a relationship that makes the other person act well to get a result.

This concept was first described by B.F Skinner in his suggestive theory of Operant Conditioning. He explained all that is mentioned above. If positive reinforcement happens immediately after a behavior its effect will be certain and long lasting. The connection between two people interacting on this basis will be much stronger because of this. Positive reinforcement can be taken as a shaping tool for a person who needs to change himself. This kind of reinforcement can be used on children, teenagers, elderly and often with people who have disorders. If someone acts in the right way, positive reinforcement presents like a motivating force for that person to perform the same thing to get appreciated and have their response strengthened.

Few examples from our daily lives will let grasp the concept very well:

  • If you give a surprise test in your class session and your teacher gave you a bonus of 5 extra points, you will certainly be willing to appear for these kinds of test again for that teacher.
  • You are working as a content writer and at the time of getting your pay, you are informed that you will get an extra bonus with it.
  • After you submit an assignment to your boss and he says, “Good job” or “Great effort” you will certainly feel the positive reinforcement working its way.

Positive reinforcement is not always a good option. People need to understand the need of negative reinforcement in a few situations. For instance if a kid misbehaves and insists his/ her parents to get him a toy and instead of making them realize that they don’t need it or they can’t afford it, parents get them exactly what they want. This is basically reinforcement to that forceful behavior the child is adopting.

Each type of positive reinforcement depends on the individual and the circumstances prevailing:

    Natural reinforcers are the direct results occurring. For example if a girl gives her assignments, performs well in her class will eventually get good grades. Tangible reinforcers involve the provision of a physical reward because of a good action. This is like motivating energy into the other person. Social reinforcers are the kind that is used very often at homes, workplaces or educational institutes. The words of appreciation like, ‘’good try’’ or ‘’well done’’ are an open example for this kind of reinforcement. Token reinforcers let you get certain number of points or rewards in accordance to the actions you perform.

If you want to set positive goals for a particular individual make sure you take the help of positive reinforcement because it is a simple and unique technique. It not only helps the individual who does something but the person who is rewarding that individual will gain the insight of how to deal with him. The physiological needs present in people require this technique constantly to set up a healthy environment. There should be no discrimination between two people or a group of people who do the same action to get a good result because then the positive reinforcement might create rivalry. Moreover, the one who did not get a satisfactory response will never repeat the task that he performed earlier. This kind of reinforcement is associated to everybody’s life; it is an important part of improvement and development.

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