Negative reinforcement

From Drug Rehab Wiki

Negative reinforcement is a concept developed by psychologist B.F. Skinner to partially explain human behavior.

Skinner believed that a person will repeat a behavior if it is reinforced in a negative way. This is not the same as punishment. A punishment stops a behavior. A negative reinforcement keep a certain behavior going. For example, a low grade is a negative reinforcement for studying for a test, a high grade is a reward for studying, and a low grade is a punishment for not studying.

Negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment. In fact, the two concepts are polar opposites. Punishment is a procedure that decreases the probability that a particular response will occur. Negative reinforcement, on the other hand, means the cessation of an adverse stimulus, which thereby increases the likelihood of a particular response. In the addiction context, negative reinforcement occurs during withdrawal. For instance, when an addict is experiencing painful withdrawal effects, reducing the pain by taking more of the drug negatively reinforces continuation of drug abuse in order to avoid the same withdrawal effects. In another example, negative reinforcement is when a recovering drug addict begins to hang out again with friends who once helped enable him to abuse drugs. The unbearable loneliness he experienced on his own is the adverse stimulus and, when this feeling goes away after rejoining the group, there will be less of a chance that the person will make another break from these friends.