Kinds of reinforcers, Part 2

Revised on 12/22/14

I suggest reading this post after you read the post called Kinds of reinforcers, Part 1.

See the definition of Reinforcer (Positive Reinforcer) on p. 3. Be sure you understand that stimulus is not a synonym of reinforcer and reinforcer is not a synonym of stimulus. These two words DO NOT mean the same thing. Stimulus is the larger category and reinforcer is a subcategory of that larger category. So every reinforcer is a stimulus, but not every stimulus is a reinforcer. Sometimes a particular stimulus functions as a reinforcer, but sometimes it has a different function.

Stimulus, like many other words, has multiple meanings. In the second column on p. 3 Malott says that a stimulus is any physical change, such as a change in sound, light, pressure, or temperature. This is a “default” definition of stimulus as the word is commonly used in everyday language. In his list of four types of stimuli, Malott refers to this as the “restricted sense” of the word. But he also says that throughout Principles of Behavior, when the word is used, it might refer to this kind of physical change, but it also might refer to an event, activity, or condition. So looking again at the definition of Reinforcer (Positive Reinforcer), we should understand that a stimulus that functions as a reinforcer might be a physical change, event, activity, or condition. Any of these kinds of stimuli might function as a reinforcer in a particular situation.

Another way to think about Malott’s list is that there are four basic kinds of reinforcers. A stimulus (in the restricted sense of the word), such as a pleasant taste or aroma, can function as a reinforcer. So can an event, like a football game or a concert. So can a condition or, more specifically, a change in condition. For instance, if it's dark and you can't see, then the behavior of flipping a light switch may change the visibility condition, and that change in condition is a reinforcer. As for activities as reinforcers, I'll expand a little on what Malott says. Rather than an activity functioning as a reinforcer, it's more often the opportunity to engage in a particular activity that functions as a reinforcer. For example, if you wash the dishes (target behavior), you'll have the opportunity to engage in the activity of playing video games for a while. That opportunity, then, functions as a reinforcer.