{"id":5,"date":"2008-02-23T19:12:03","date_gmt":"2008-02-24T02:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/avianambassadors.com\/BirdTraining\/2008\/02\/23\/positve-good-negative-bad\/"},"modified":"2008-02-29T14:45:19","modified_gmt":"2008-02-29T21:45:19","slug":"positve-good-negative-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/avianambassadors.com\/BirdTraining\/positve-good-negative-bad\/","title":{"rendered":"Positive good! … Negative bad!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Positive good! \u2026 negative bad!<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is unfortunate that the words used to describe behavior in the science of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) are words that are very familiar to English speakers. I say unfortunate because some of these words are so familiar that they bring their own \u201cemotive\u201d baggage along with them.<\/p>\n

For this article I will concentrate on four words; Positive, Negative, Reinforcement, and Punishment. These words are used in pairs to describe four different types of consequences that a trainer may apply after a behavior.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin with Positive and Negative. When used in general language these words are often used to qualify something as good (positive) or bad (negative). A simple example would be having a positive attitude or a negative attitude. No problem understanding their use in that context. However in the context of ABA they have quite different meanings. Positive means that something was added to the environment and Negative means something was removed. There is no good or bad connotation implied. Hold on to that proposition while we deal with the other two words for a moment.<\/p>\n

Reinforcement and Punishment are used to communicate the effect of the trainer\u2019s action on the behavior that occurred immediately before the action. So, if the consequence an animal experiences right after a behavior increases the likelihood it will repeat the behavior then that consequence is Reinforcement. On the other hand if the consequence serves to reduce the behavior then it is Punishment. Now I can almost hear cries that one should never use punishment \u2026 remember I mentioned that some of these words come with baggage! Well Punishment is the grand-daddy of all of them for that. In general language punishment is loaded with emotive meaning and one of the challenges of understanding ABA and training is setting aside the preconceptions of this word. In an ABA context it simply means that the behavior is likely to decrease. For example; a parrot loves the company of its caregiver, when it screams for attention the caregiver leaves the room and that action reduces the screaming \u2026 that in ABA terms is punishment.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s quickly review:<\/p>\n