[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Behavioral science](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/) › [Learning and behavior](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/learning/) › Operant conditioning: reinforcement and punishment

# Operant conditioning: reinforcement and punishment

- Theory

Behavior is shaped by what follows it: consequences that help make it more frequent, consequences that hurt make it less frequent.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Reinforcement increases the behavior; punishment decreases it. Positive = a stimulus is added; negative = a stimulus is removed.
- Exam trap: negative reinforcement is NOT punishment. Removing something unpleasant increases the behavior (taking an analgesic removes the pain, so the patient takes it again).
- Positive punishment adds something unpleasant (a fine); negative punishment removes something pleasant (losing phone time).
- Extinction: the reinforcement stops and the behavior fades, often after a brief extinction burst in which it first gets worse.
- Shaping reinforces successive approximations to the target behavior; it underlies many programs for autism and rehabilitation.
- Positive reinforcement teaches new behavior best; punishment suppresses behavior without teaching an alternative and can bring fear and aggression.

## What it is

In operant (instrumental) conditioning a voluntary behavior becomes more or less likely according to its consequences. Thorndike called it the law of effect and Skinner studied it systematically. Reinforcement always increases a behavior and punishment always decreases it; «positive» means that something is added and «negative» that something is taken away.

## Key facts

- Primary reinforcers have innate value (food, water, warmth, touch); secondary or conditioned reinforcers gain value by association (money, praise, tokens).
- Avoidance and escape behaviors are maintained by negative reinforcement: the relief that follows is the reward.
- Reinforcement works best when it is immediate and contingent on the behavior; delayed consequences shape behavior weakly.
- Chaining links several shaped steps into one sequence (dressing, hand hygiene steps).

## The 2 × 2 of operant conditioning, with original examples

| Type | What happens | Effect on behavior | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Positive reinforcement | A pleasant stimulus is added | Increases | A child earns a sticker for every dry night |
| Negative reinforcement | An unpleasant stimulus is removed | Increases | A man with a phobia leaves the elevator and his anxiety drops, so he avoids elevators more |
| Positive punishment | An unpleasant stimulus is added | Decreases | A resident is reprimanded in front of the team for arriving late |
| Negative punishment | A pleasant stimulus is removed | Decreases | A teenager loses the use of the car after a speeding ticket |
| Extinction | The usual reinforcement no longer comes | Decreases (after a possible burst) | Staff stop answering a patient's call bell instantly for non-urgent requests and the calls first rise, then fall |

## Clinical notes

- Substance use: euphoria is a positive reinforcer early on; later, relief of withdrawal and of negative emotion is a powerful negative reinforcer.
- Chronic pain: attention, rest and relief from duties that follow pain behaviors can reinforce them, independent of tissue damage.
- In gambling disorder, wins arrive unpredictably (variable ratio), which makes the behavior very resistant to extinction.
- Token economies, contingency management and moisture alarms with reward charts are operant techniques used in therapy.

## Memory aid

Reinforcement raises, punishment pushes down; plus adds, minus takes away. Ask two questions: does the behavior go up or down? Was something added or removed?

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## A patient with migraine learns that lying in a dark room makes the pain go away, and does it at every attack. What type of learning is this?

Negative reinforcement: an unpleasant stimulus (pain) is removed, so the behavior (lying in the dark) becomes more frequent.

## Is negative reinforcement the same as punishment?

No. Any reinforcement increases a behavior; negative reinforcement does it by removing something unpleasant. Punishment decreases a behavior.

## Parents take away a child's video game time after he hits his sister. What is this called?

Negative punishment: a pleasant stimulus is removed in order to decrease the behavior.

## When reinforcement is withdrawn, a behavior sometimes gets worse before it fades. What is this phenomenon?

An extinction burst: a temporary increase in the frequency or intensity of the behavior when the expected reinforcement stops.

[Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/behavioral-science/operant-conditioning-reinforcement-and-punishment/)

## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

- [The limbic system, emotion and reward](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/the-limbic-system-emotion-and-reward/)
- [Learning and memory](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/learning-and-memory/)

## Connections

## Related 7

- [Classical conditioning](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/classical-conditioning/)
- [Schedules of reinforcement](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/schedules-of-reinforcement/)
- [Habituation, extinction, learned helplessness and modelling](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/habituation-extinction-learned-helplessness-and-modelling/)
- [Behavior therapy: exposure, desensitization, token economy and more](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/behavior-therapy-exposure-desensitization-token-economy-and-more/)
- [Addiction concepts: reward, tolerance, dependence and withdrawal](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/addiction-concepts-reward-tolerance-dependence-and-withdrawal/)
- [Chronic pain: fear-avoidance, catastrophizing and psychological treatment](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/chronic-pain-fear-avoidance-catastrophizing-and-psychological-treatment/)
- [Cues, craving and relapse](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/cues-craving-and-relapse/)

## Related conditions 5

- [Gambling disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/gambling-disorder/)
- [Alcohol use disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/alcohol-use-disorder/)
- [Stimulant use disorder (cocaine, amphetamines)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/stimulant-use-disorder/)
- [Opioid use disorder, overdose and withdrawal](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/opioid-use-disorder-overdose-and-withdrawal/)
- [Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/autism-spectrum-disorder/)

[← All of behavioral science](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/)

Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline.

Sources: [Facets of Pavlovian and operant extinction](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3337697/) (Behavioural Processes (PubMed Central), 2012); [The neurobiology of addiction](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6767400/) (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (PubMed Central), 2019); [Contingency Management: Incentives for Sobriety](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6760431/) (Alcohol Research & Health (PubMed Central), 1999).

## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake

Representative model, for educational purposes only.

---
Source: https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/operant-conditioning-reinforcement-and-punishment/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/operant-conditioning-reinforcement-and-punishment/