Negative Reinforcement vs. Negative Punishment: Let’s Learn Training Terms
As I mentioned last week, February is Dog Training Education Month. This is a follow-up post to dive into more training terms we use as dog trainers. In case you missed it, last week we focused on Positive Reinforcement and Positive Punishment. If you don’t have the time to read it, here’s a recap to get you up to speed for this post:
Common training terms are derived from a learning method called Operant Conditioning. Operant Conditioning was first described by behaviorist B.F. Skinner. I like the way the Very Well Mind website states it:
Operant conditioning, sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning, is a method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence (whether negative or positive) for that behavior.
Simply put: adding or taking something away from a situation either increases or decreases the behavior. Animal trainers can utilize these concepts to train an animal to do behaviors, but more on that in a minute…
What is Operant Conditioning?
There are four major concepts of Operant Conditioning:
- Positive Reinforcement
- Positive Punishment
- Negative Reinforcement
- Negative Punishment
Please don’t get hung up on the words “positive” and “negative”. Current society has our brains jumping straight to them meaning “good” and “bad”. However, in this instance they mean something is added (positive) or something is taken away (negative).
Helpful Terms to Know Moving Forward
You’ll also need to be familiar with the words “reinforcement” and “punishment”. Reinforcement results in an increase in the behavior, punishment results in a decrease in the behavior. This should help:
- POSITIVE = ADDITION
- NEGATIVE = SUBTRACTION
- REINFORCEMENT = CONSEQUENCE INCREASES FREQUENCY
- PUNISHMENT = CONSEQUENCE DECREASES FREQUENCY.
One more term you’ll need to know before we move on to definitions is the word stimulus. A stimulus is defined as something external that influences an activity. You’ll catch on in a minute, don’t worry 😉
As I mentioned before, this post goes into Negative Reinforcement and Negative Punishment and how they might be used in training. If you want to learn more about the positive side of things, click the link below to last week’s post.
Related: What is the difference between Positive Reinforcement & Positive Punishment?
Negative Reinforcement – Removing IS Rewarding
I always like to start with the reinforcing terms 🙂 Simply put: Negative Reinforcement occurs when the removal of a stimulus (usually seen as unpleasant) is rewarding, therefore increasing the frequency of the behavior. The stimulus can be anything the subject finds unpleasant. The best example I always think of is the sound your car makes if you leave the keys in the ignition with the driver door open. That “ding, ding, ding” will drive you nuts until you take the key out. Taking the key out of the ignition stops the sound (unpleasant stimulus), so it increases the likelihood you’ll take the keys out before you open the car door next time.
Example of How it’s Used in Dog Training
To help give you an easy visual to understand, I’ll use the example of a remote collar. This is by no means the only way to use negative reinforcement, but it really can help you get the concept. First, let me remind you that in our company, if we use remote collars, we start at the lowest possible level that creates a reaction in your dog (we’re looking for an ear twitch, or the dog may think it’s a flea so they scratch). Once we find that setting, we can start using it to train obedience. For example: you hold the button down to create a continuous vibrate or shock (remember – it is very low). When the dog sits, you release the button to remove the sensation. It is therefore rewarding to sit because it makes the annoying “flea” stop “biting”. While there are some other steps in there, this is the general concept.
Timing is important!
Did you catch the one thing that might be crucially important in the example above? TIMING. The timing of when you remove/stop the aversive stimulus is extremely important. It’s important with ALL the examples I’ve given, but in my personal opinion, even more so with this method.
Negative Punishment – Removing ISN’T Rewarding
While this term can seem the harshest, it may not mean exactly what you think. In short: Negative Punishment occurs when a stimulus (that is regarded as favorable) is the removed, therefore resulting in a decrease of the behavior. This time, the stimulus is pleasant, so when you take it away an unwanted behavior stops.
Example of How it’s Used in Dog Training
Does your puppy love his ears scratched? I’m guessing he does. Let’s say you’re giving him a nice ear rub when he starts to play-bite you (ouch!). As soon as he starts nipping, you STOP scratching his ears. At some point, he will learn that the play-biting caused the ear-scratching to stop, so he will stop play-biting.
Again, Timing is Important!
It’s important to note that timing is, once again, pretty important. You have to remove the favorable stimulus after the unwanted behaviors occurs, so that your dog associates the removal of something they like with the behavior that just happened.
The More You Know
I hope this short series has helped clear up some of the misconceptions you may have had around these training terms. When you first read them, they can seem harsh or confusing. Hopefully, I was able to break it down for you so that if they come up in your training experience, you can recognize them and feel confident your trainer knows what they’re doing.
Here’s the graph if you need it again:
Remember: our trainers are trained with our Multi-method Training System. This allows us to find the best way your dog learns! We always have you and your dog’s best interest at heart, so they can become a valued member of the family!
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