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Definition of "reinforcer" []

  • 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. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "reinforcer" in a sentence
  • "In animal behavior, a reinforcer is a reward which tends to increase the frequency of a behavior."
  • "I fully support using reinforcements to motivate certain behaviors, however it is counterproductive to reinforce a behavior you desire, such as doing well in school for the week, with a reinforcer such as candy which aside from tasting good has nothing but negative health consequences."
  • "One of the behavior modification methods discussed was pointing one's finger as a visual reinforcer in tandem with a verbal reinforcer being given to a child."