Key concepts in conditioning

Reinforcement vs. Punishment: The Control of Behavior

The primary mechanism underlying learning, according to BF Skinner, is reinforcement, a process that increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated.

In direct contrast, punishment refers to any stimulus that results in a decrease in the likelihood that a previous behavior will occur again.

It is essential to understand that reinforcement always aims to increase the frequency of a behavior, while punishment always seeks to decrease or suppress it.

Both concepts can be applied in a "positive" way (adding something) or "negative" way (removing something), which results in four possibilities for action.

The Four Varieties: Positive and Negative

Positive reinforcement consists of a stimulus that is added to the environment and causes an increase in the frequency of a response, such as giving a reward.

On the other hand, negative reinforcement is the removal of an unpleasant stimulus, such as pain, which also leads to a increase in response.

It is very important not to confuse negative reinforcement with punishment, since negative reinforcement, like positive reinforcement, always increases a behavior.

Positive punishment weakens a response through the application of an unpleasant stimulus, such as receiving an electric shock.

Finally, negative punishment consists of eliminating something that is pleasant, such as taking away a teenager's car, in order to weaken a behavior.

Reinforcement Schedules and Their Effectiveness

Reinforcement schedules or patterns are those that affect the strength and duration of learning that has been acquired through experience.

Generally, partial reinforcement schedules, in which rewards are not delivered on every occasion, produce stronger and much more lasting learning.

These are more effective than continuous reinforcement schedules, in which the desired behavior is rewarded every time it occurs, without exception.

The main partial reinforcement schedules are ratio (fixed or variable), which are based on the number of responses, and interval (fixed or variable).

Stimulus Generalization and Discrimination

Stimulus generalization is the tendency for a conditioned response to also occur to a stimulus that is similar to the original.

The opposite phenomenon to this is stimulus discrimination, which occurs when an organism learns to distinguish between different stimuli and respond differentially.

This ability to discriminate is crucial for adaptation, since it allows us to respond in a specific and appropriate way to situations that, although similar, are different.

These concepts are fundamental not only in Pavlov's classical conditioning, but also in operant conditioning, where stimulus control is applied.