C.1 Positive and negative reinforcement
Reinforcement is any consequence that makes a behavior more likely to happen again. As an RBT you deliver positive and negative reinforcement exactly as your supervisor's plan describes: right after the target behavior, only when the behavior occurs, on the schedule the plan sets, and at the size, intensity and variety the plan calls for.
What the outline says
Task C.1 in content area C, Behavior Acquisition (19 of the 75 scored questions): "Implement positive and negative reinforcement procedures (e.g., immediately, contingently, according to schedules of reinforcement) along a continuum of dimensions (e.g., magnitude, intensity, variety)."
What reinforcement is
Reinforcement happens when a consequence follows a behavior and that behavior occurs more often in the future. The word describes an effect on behavior, not an intention. A consequence is a reinforcer only if the behavior it follows increases. A sticker the client ignores is not a reinforcer for that client, and a reprimand that is followed by more calling out may be working as one.
This is why you collect data. If you deliver the planned consequence consistently and the behavior does not increase, the consequence is not working as a reinforcer, and your supervisor needs to see those data.
Positive and negative reinforcement
"Positive" and "negative" do not mean good and bad. They describe what happens to a stimulus after the behavior:
- Positive reinforcement: a stimulus is added after the behavior, and the behavior increases. A client finishes a worksheet and gets tablet time; worksheet completion increases.
- Negative reinforcement: a stimulus is removed, reduced or prevented after the behavior, and the behavior increases. A client asks for the lights to be dimmed and the RBT dims them; asking increases.
Negative reinforcement has two forms. In escape, the behavior ends a stimulus that is already present, such as tapping "Stop" on a ringing alarm. In avoidance, the behavior prevents or postpones a stimulus before it starts, such as picking up toys before a caregiver begins giving reminders.
Both kinds of reinforcement increase behavior. Punishment, positive or negative, decreases behavior. Mixing up negative reinforcement and punishment is a common error.
Delivering reinforcement well
How you deliver a reinforcer affects how well it works. Your plan will usually address these features:
- Immediacy: deliver the reinforcer right after the target response. During a delay the client may do something else, and that other behavior can be strengthened instead.
- Contingency: deliver the reinforcer only when the target behavior occurs. If the client gets the same item no matter what they do, the target behavior is not being reinforced.
- Magnitude: the amount or duration of the reinforcer, such as 2 minutes of play for an independent response and 20 seconds for a prompted one.
- Intensity: how strong the delivery is, such as calm praise versus enthusiastic, animated praise.
- Variety: rotating among several reinforcers so the client does not become satiated on one.
When you use praise, name the behavior ("You put your shoes on all by yourself!"). Behavior-specific praise makes the contingency clear.
Schedules of reinforcement
A schedule tells you which responses earn reinforcement. With continuous reinforcement (CRF, also written FR 1), every correct response is reinforced. It is usually used when a skill is new, because it usually produces the fastest learning.
Intermittent schedules reinforce only some responses:
- Fixed ratio (FR): after a set number of responses. FR 4 means every fourth correct response.
- Variable ratio (VR): after a number of responses that changes around an average. VR 5 might mean after 2, then 8, then 5 responses.
- Fixed interval (FI): the first response after a set amount of time has passed. Responses before the time is up are not reinforced.
- Variable interval (VI): the first response after an amount of time that changes around an average.
Each schedule tends to produce a typical pattern. Variable ratio schedules produce high, steady rates with little pausing. Fixed ratio schedules often produce a pause after each reinforcer followed by a fast run of responses. Fixed interval schedules produce little responding just after reinforcement and faster responding as the end of the interval nears. Variable interval schedules produce moderate, steady rates.
Do not confuse interval schedules with fixed-time or variable-time schedules. On a time schedule the reinforcer arrives when the time is up whether or not the client responds; that is noncontingent reinforcement, an antecedent intervention.
Once a skill is established, the supervisor usually plans to thin the schedule (for example, FR 1 to FR 2 to FR 4). Behavior on intermittent schedules tends to keep going longer when reinforcement stops and is closer to what the client will meet in daily life. Thinning too quickly can cause ratio strain, where the client pauses or stops working, so implement each step exactly as written and report any breakdown in responding.
Motivating operations
A reinforcer's value changes from moment to moment. A motivating operation is an event or condition that temporarily changes that value. An establishing operation increases it; deprivation is the common example, as when a client who has not had their favorite music all day works harder to earn it. An abolishing operation decreases it; satiation is the common example, as when a client who has eaten crackers all session starts refusing them.
Watch for these signs during sessions. If a client has just eaten a large snack, an edible reinforcer is likely to be weaker. Use the alternatives your plan allows, document what happened, and tell your supervisor about patterns.
Your role
Your supervisor chooses the reinforcers, schedule and dimensions; you implement them with fidelity and collect data. You do not switch schedules, change amounts or stop reinforcement on your own. If a reinforcer seems to have lost its effect, keep following the plan, use any options it already provides, and report the data to your supervisor promptly. This links C.1 to procedural fidelity (A.8) and to seeking clinical direction (E.2).
Examples and non-examples
| Example | Non-example |
|---|---|
| A client says "Lights down, please," the RBT dims the lights, and the requests increase. This is negative reinforcement: a stimulus is reduced and the behavior increases. | A client hits a sibling and loses tablet time, and hitting decreases. Something is removed, but the behavior decreases, so this is negative punishment, not negative reinforcement. |
| The plan says to praise the first hand raise after 2 minutes have passed since the last praise. This is a fixed interval schedule: time must pass, and then a response is required. | The RBT praises the client every 2 minutes whether or not the client raises a hand. This is a fixed-time (noncontingent) schedule, not a fixed interval schedule. |
| The RBT hands a token the moment the client sorts the fourth item correctly, as the FR 4 plan states. | The RBT finishes writing data first and hands the token a minute later, after the client has started tapping the table, which may strengthen tapping instead of sorting. |
Common mistakes
- Thinking "negative reinforcement" means punishment. All reinforcement increases behavior; ask whether a stimulus was added or removed and whether the behavior went up or down.
- Calling something a reinforcer because the client likes it. Only an increase in behavior shows that a consequence is a reinforcer.
- Confusing a fixed interval schedule with a fixed-time schedule. Interval schedules still require a response after the time passes.
- Delivering reinforcers late or when the target behavior did not occur. Reinforce immediately and only after the target response.
- Changing the schedule or the amount of reinforcement because a session is going badly. Report the problem and let the supervisor decide.
How it's tested
Expect short scenarios that ask you to name the procedure (positive or negative reinforcement, escape or avoidance) or the schedule (FR, VR, FI, VI). Decide whether a stimulus was added or removed, then whether the behavior increased. For schedules, ask whether reinforcement depends on a count of responses (ratio) or on time passing before a response (interval), and whether that number or time is fixed or variable. Other items test immediacy, contingency, magnitude, satiation and deprivation, or ask what an RBT should do when a reinforcer stops working; the answer usually involves following the plan and reporting to the supervisor.
Practice questions for task C.1
10 of our 34 questions on this task. The rest are in the Behavior Acquisition practice sets and the mock exams.
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Question 1In applied behavior analysis, what makes a reinforcement procedure "positive"?
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D: A stimulus is added after the behavior, and the behavior increases in the future.. "Positive" means a stimulus is added (presented) after the behavior, and "reinforcement" means the behavior occurs more often in the future. It has nothing to do with whether the stimulus seems pleasant.
- A: Removing a stimulus and seeing the behavior increase is negative reinforcement.
- B: Adding a stimulus that makes the behavior decrease is positive punishment.
- C: Delivering a stimulus on a time schedule regardless of behavior is noncontingent reinforcement, not a contingent reinforcement procedure.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 2A school-age client finishes a math worksheet, and the RBT immediately gives 5 minutes of tablet time, as the plan directs. Over the week, the client finishes worksheets more often. Which procedure is the RBT implementing?
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A: Positive reinforcement. Tablet time is added right after the worksheet is finished, and finishing worksheets increases. Adding a stimulus that increases the behavior it follows is positive reinforcement.
- B: Negative reinforcement removes a stimulus; here something is added.
- C: Negative punishment removes a stimulus and decreases behavior; here behavior increases.
- D: Noncontingent reinforcement is delivered on a time schedule, but here the tablet depends on finishing the worksheet.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 3An adult client finds the bright overhead lights uncomfortable. The plan teaches the client to say "Lights down, please," and the RBT dims the lights each time the client asks. Requests increase over the next few weeks. Which procedure does this show?
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D: Negative reinforcement. The request is followed by the reduction of an uncomfortable stimulus (bright light), and the request increases. Removing or reducing a stimulus in a way that increases behavior is negative reinforcement.
- A: Positive reinforcement adds a stimulus; here the bright light is reduced.
- B: Positive punishment adds a stimulus and decreases behavior; requests increased.
- C: Negative punishment removes a stimulus and decreases behavior; requests increased.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 4A teen's phone alarm rings each morning and keeps ringing until the teen taps "Stop." Over the month, the teen taps "Stop" faster and faster after the alarm starts. Which statement best explains the change?
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A: Negative reinforcement, because tapping ends the ringing and tapping has increased. The ringing is already present, and tapping "Stop" ends it. Because the response terminates a stimulus and becomes faster and more likely, this is negative reinforcement (escape).
- B: Silence is the absence of the ringing; what the response does is remove the ringing, which makes this negative, not positive, reinforcement.
- C: Negative punishment would make tapping less likely, but tapping has become faster and more likely.
- D: The ringing comes before the tap, not after it, so it is not a consequence that punishes tapping.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 5What determines whether a consequence is a reinforcer for a client?
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B: It increases the future frequency of the behavior it follows.. A reinforcer is defined by its effect: a consequence is a reinforcer only if the behavior it follows occurs more often in the future. Liking an item, or delivering it quickly, does not make it a reinforcer.
- A: Smiling or saying they like an item does not show that it strengthens behavior.
- C: What most people enjoy may not strengthen this client's behavior.
- D: Immediate delivery makes a reinforcer more effective, but timing alone does not make something a reinforcer.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 6A plan uses tablet time as the reinforcer for correct responses. Over three sessions, the client responds more slowly and pushes the tablet away when it is offered. What should the RBT do?
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C: Report the change and share the data with the supervisor.. These signs suggest the tablet may have lost value as a reinforcer. The RBT keeps implementing the plan as written, using any options the plan already allows, and reports the change to the supervisor, who decides on any changes.
- A: Changing the schedule is a change to the plan, which the supervisor decides.
- B: Withholding all reinforcement is not in the plan and could place correct responding on extinction.
- D: Changing the amount of reinforcement is a plan change that needs the supervisor's direction.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 7In a vocational program, an adult client sorts mail. As the plan directs, the RBT gives a token after every 4 pieces sorted correctly. Which schedule is this?
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A: Fixed ratio 4. The token is delivered after a set, unchanging number of responses (4), which is a fixed ratio schedule.
- B: A variable ratio 4 would deliver tokens after a changing number of responses that averages 4.
- C: A fixed interval schedule depends on time passing, not on the number of responses.
- D: Continuous reinforcement would deliver a token after every correct response.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 8A plan says to reinforce correct responses after an unpredictable number of them: sometimes after 2, sometimes after 8, and on average after 5. Which schedule is this?
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C: Variable ratio 5. Reinforcement depends on the number of responses, and that number changes around an average of 5. That is a variable ratio (VR 5) schedule.
- A: A fixed ratio 5 would reinforce after exactly 5 responses every time.
- B: A variable interval schedule depends on time passing, not on a count of responses.
- D: A variable-time schedule delivers reinforcement after varying amounts of time regardless of behavior.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 9The plan states: "Praise the first time the client asks a peer to play after 2 minutes have passed since the last praise. Requests made before 2 minutes are up are not praised." Which schedule is this?
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D: Fixed interval 2 minutes. On a fixed interval schedule, the first response after a set amount of time has passed is reinforced. Responses before the interval ends are not reinforced.
- A: A fixed ratio 2 would reinforce every second request, regardless of time.
- B: A fixed-time schedule delivers reinforcement every 2 minutes whether or not the client responds.
- C: A variable interval schedule uses intervals that change around an average, not a set 2 minutes.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
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Question 10The plan states: "Praise the first hand raise that occurs after an unpredictable amount of time has passed, averaging 3 minutes. Hand raises before that time are not praised." Which schedule is this?
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A: Variable interval 3 minutes. Reinforcement goes to the first response after an amount of time that changes around an average of 3 minutes. That is a variable interval (VI 3-minute) schedule.
- B: A variable ratio schedule depends on the number of responses, not on time passing.
- C: A fixed interval schedule uses the same interval every time, not an unpredictable one.
- D: A variable-time schedule delivers reinforcement after varying times even if the client does not raise a hand.
Task C.1 · 40-hour curriculum section A
Answer every question to see your score.
Key terms
| Reinforcement | Reinforcement occurs when a consequence that follows a behavior makes that behavior more likely to occur again in the future under similar conditions. |
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| Positive reinforcement | Positive reinforcement occurs when a stimulus is added or presented right after a behavior and, as a result, that behavior becomes more likely in the future. |
| Negative reinforcement | Negative reinforcement occurs when a stimulus is removed or reduced right after a behavior and, as a result, that behavior becomes more likely in the future. |
| Escape | Escape is a form of negative reinforcement in which a behavior ends or reduces an aversive stimulus that is already present, making that behavior more likely in the future. |
| Avoidance | Avoidance is a form of negative reinforcement in which a behavior prevents or postpones an aversive stimulus, so that behavior becomes more likely in the future. |
| Schedule of reinforcement | A schedule of reinforcement is a rule stating which responses will be reinforced, based on the number of responses, the passage of time, or both. |
| Continuous reinforcement | Continuous reinforcement (CRF) is a schedule in which every occurrence of the target behavior is reinforced. |
| Intermittent reinforcement | A schedule in which only some occurrences of a behavior are reinforced, as in fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval and variable-interval schedules. |
| Fixed ratio | A fixed ratio (FR) schedule delivers reinforcement after a set number of responses, such as after every 5th response on an FR 5 schedule. |
| Variable ratio | A variable ratio (VR) schedule delivers reinforcement after a number of responses that changes unpredictably around an average, such as an average of every 5th response on VR 5. |
| Fixed interval | A schedule of reinforcement in which the first response after a set amount of time has passed is reinforced, for example the first response after 2 minutes (FI 2-min). |
| Variable interval | A schedule of reinforcement in which the first response after an unpredictable amount of time is reinforced, with intervals varying around an average such as 2 minutes (VI 2-min). |
| Immediacy | Delivering a reinforcer right after the target behavior; the shorter the delay between a response and its consequence, the more effective reinforcement usually is. |
| Contingency | A dependent relation between a behavior and a consequence: the consequence is delivered only if the behavior occurs (if this behavior, then this consequence). |
| Magnitude of reinforcement | How much reinforcement follows a response, such as the amount of an item, the length of access to an activity, or the intensity of the praise or stimulus. |
| Satiation | A temporary decrease in how effective a reinforcer is, caused by recent contact with a lot of that reinforcer; it also makes behavior that produces it less likely. |
| Deprivation | A period without access to a reinforcer, which temporarily increases its value and makes behavior that has produced it in the past more likely. |
| Motivating operation | An environmental variable that temporarily changes how reinforcing a stimulus is and changes how often behavior that has produced that stimulus occurs. |
| Establishing operation | A motivating operation that increases the reinforcing value of a stimulus and makes behavior that has produced that stimulus more likely to occur. |
| Abolishing operation | A motivating operation that decreases the reinforcing value of a stimulus and makes behavior that has produced that stimulus less likely to occur. |