Positive reinforcement

 When you are trying to teach a new skill, whether it's teaching your dog to sit or getting yourself to stop doomscrolling before bed, rewarding good behavior is often better than punishing mistakes. Positive reinforcement involves rewarding desirable behaviors, making such actions *more* likely to be repeated.

It's a common concept in behavioral psychology that can be used to teach and strengthen behaviors. Think about it this way: when you do one thing and something good happens as a result, you'll probably want to do the same thing again (and again) in the future so you can get those same effects. It's why we show up at work every day and put in a little extra effort when preparing for a big exam. The payoffs for those actions (yay, money! good grades!) act as positive reinforcers, making the behavior more likely to occur again.

What Is Positive Reinforcement?

In operant conditioning, positive reinforcement involves the addition of a reinforcing stimulus following a behavior that makes it more likely that the behavior will occur again in the future. When a favorable outcome, event, or reward occurs after an action, that particular response or behavior will be strengthened.

You can probably think of quite a few positive reinforcers. Such reinforcers are sometimes just natural consequences of our actions, but they can also involve social (praise), tangible (money), or token (points) rewards.

No matter what type, research suggests that positive reinforcement can be highly effective for teaching and modifying behaviors in home, school, and therapy settings. If you're interested in trying it, remember that timing matters. Rewards should be given quickly and on a schedule that encourages consistent, lasting responses.

What makes positive reinforcement positive?

Positive reinforcement is positive because it involves something being added. By thinking of it in these terms, you may find it easier to identify real-world examples of positive reinforcement.

Sometimes positive reinforcement occurs quite naturally. For example, when you hold the door open for someone, you might receive praise and a thank you. That affirmation serves as positive reinforcement and may make it more likely that you will hold the door open for people again in the future.

In other cases, someone might choose to use positive reinforcement very deliberately in order to train and maintain a specific behavior. An animal trainer, for example, might reward a dog with a treat after the animal shakes the trainer's hand and pauses for a count.