Negative reinforcement is not the opposite of positive reinforcement. It is a part of everyday life, for neurodiverse and neurotypical people alike. There is nothing inherently wrong or bad about negative reinforcement. Subsequently, a person will be more inclined to turn the light off the next time they want to sleep. This is negative reinforcement.Īnother example of negative reinforcement includes turning off a light at night (the light is subtracted), which leads to better sleep. In ABA terms, taking the shower was “negatively reinforced” by taking away (or subtracting) the bad smell. Someone who takes a shower to remove body odor is subtracting their bad smell. To understand the use of negative reinforcement during ABA therapy, it might help to think of “negative” in terms of the mathematical principle of subtracting (as opposed to the qualitative judgment of “negative” to mean something bad).
NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT FULL
This could be a noise, an object, a smell, or even a person.įor the full effects of negative reinforcement to be felt, once the stimulus is removed, the child must continue to engage in the behavior that led to the favorable outcome when similar situations arise again. In applied behavior analysis, the “stimulus” is whatever is taken away from the child that was causing them distress.
When a child’s behavior causes the removal of a stimulus that they found unpleasant and an impediment to what they wanted to achieve, this is a state of negative reinforcement.
The removal of the stimulus (the negative reinforcement) creates a wanted outcome for the person. Negative reinforcement happens when an unwanted stimulus in the environment is taken away because of a person’s behavior. It simply involves removing an uncomfortable stimulus as a method of encouraging desired behavior. Many people associate negative reinforcement with punishment, but it’s not. Though positive reinforcement is the basis of applied behavior analysis, negative reinforcement can also be used.