What are positive consequences that motivate behavior called?

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What are positive consequences that motivate behavior called?

Positive consequences that motivate and strengthen a behavior are reinforcers. In operant learning, a reinforcer is something that follows a behavior and increases the chances that the behavior will occur again. For orientation and mobility, reinforcers can be praise, a preferred item, or a small reward given after successfully using a skill like a cane technique or choosing a safe route. The key is that the reinforcer is meaningful to the learner and delivered soon after the behavior, making the behavior more likely to happen again. This is different from punishers, which aim to reduce a behavior by adding an adverse outcome; from extinction, where reinforcement stops and the behavior gradually fades; and from shaping, which is the process of reinforcing closer and closer approximations to a desired behavior.

Positive consequences that motivate and strengthen a behavior are reinforcers. In operant learning, a reinforcer is something that follows a behavior and increases the chances that the behavior will occur again. For orientation and mobility, reinforcers can be praise, a preferred item, or a small reward given after successfully using a skill like a cane technique or choosing a safe route. The key is that the reinforcer is meaningful to the learner and delivered soon after the behavior, making the behavior more likely to happen again.

This is different from punishers, which aim to reduce a behavior by adding an adverse outcome; from extinction, where reinforcement stops and the behavior gradually fades; and from shaping, which is the process of reinforcing closer and closer approximations to a desired behavior.

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