re·in·forc·er

(rē′ĭn-fôr′sər)

n. Psychology

A stimulus, such as a reward, the removal of an unpleasant event, or a punishment, that in operant conditioning maintains or strengthens a desired response.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

reinforcer

(ˌriːɪnˈfɔːsə)

an individual or thing that enforces

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

reinforcer - (psychology) a stimulus that strengthens or weakens the behavior that produced it

reinforcing stimulus, reinforcement

stimulant, stimulus, stimulation, input - any stimulating information or event; acts to arouse action

positive reinforcer, positive reinforcing stimulus - a reinforcing stimulus that serves to increase the likelihood of the response that produces it

negative reinforcer, negative reinforcing stimulus - a reinforcing stimulus whose removal serves to decrease the likelihood of the response that produced it

psychological science, psychology - the science of mental life

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References in periodicals archive

(2005) showed that the choices of children with ADHD are principally influenced by reinforcer immediacy and quality and least by rate and effort.

Assessing self-control training in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

In this format, the child was asked "would you rather play with toy 1 or toy 2." The results from this survey resulted in a total accuracy of 70% when compared to the results of the reinforcer assessment.

Evaluation of preference assessment procedures for use with infants and toddlers

The Ultra Jamb Reinforcer, from Structural Protective Products, Inc., is an indestructible steel plate that stops screen doors and storm doors from ripping out door jambs by reinforcing the area where a door bracket attaches.

Send in the Reinforcements

Testing sensory characteristics on herpetological species has been difficult due to a range of properties related to physiology, responsiveness, performance ability, and the type of reinforcer used.

Technique for measuring speed and visual motion sensitivity in lizards

Peer effects on the conditioning of a generalized reinforcer and food choices.

The effects of an observational intervention on the acquisition of reinforcing properties of a previously neutral stimulus

After a pre-treatment screening assessment suggested that toe walking was maintained by automatic reinforcement, we paired an auditory stimulus (i.e., a clicking sound) with access to a preferred item to establish the sound as a conditioned reinforcer. Next, we delivered acoustical feedback contingent upon appropriate walking on a continuous schedule.

The Use of Contingent Acoustical Feedback to Decrease Toe Walking in a Child with Autism

A 0.04 ml squirt of tap water was used as the reinforcer, dispensed by a peristaltic pump into a recessed tray located halfway between the levers.

Conditioned Reinforcement: the Effectiveness of Stimulus--Stimulus Pairing and Operant Discrimination Procedures

A reinforcer is anything that, when delivered in conjunction with a specific behaviour, increases the likelihood of that behaviour occurring again.

How to change unwanted behaviours

PH reinforcer Dale Evangelista suffered a concussion after getting head butted.

Filipinos come up short vs Singapore in men's water polo

We consider an initially neutral stimulus as a conditioned reinforcer when it acquires its function by being paired with another reinforcing event (Pellon, Miguens, Orgaz, Ortega, & Perez, 2014).

The effect of varied reinforcement on acquisition and extinction speed/Efecto del reforzamiento variado en la velocidad de adquisicion y extincion