Consequences Project

Positive Reinforcement

When I worked at Best Buy we had to sell internet service subscriptions with new computer purchases. For every twenty I sold I would receive a gift certificate for $20 to some local restaurants. I in result sold a lot of the subscriptions. In this example the behavior of selling internet service subscriptions increased and the consequence was added to the situation making this an example of positive reinforcement.

Negative Reinforcement

I worked at a marketing research call center and I was told if I made 25 complete surveys between Monday and Thursday I could have that Friday off. I worked very hard and made my 25 surveys and was given Friday off. In this example the behavior of completing surveys increased and the consequence of working on Friday was removed from the situation making this an example of negative reinforcement.

Positive Punishment

A co-worker created a quarterly emission report for the EPA; he turned it in with mistakes. The EPA sent it back and he had to correct it and had to complete 20 hours of additional paper work. His reports from that point on were of a much higher quality. In this example the behavior of completing sloppy work decreases and the consequence of additional work is added to the situation making this an example of positive punishment.

Negative Punishment

When I worked at Best Buy we had a problem with employees coming to work late. We started taking hours away from employees who were constantly late to work. The tardiness of the employees soon stopped. In this example the behavior of being late to work decreased and the consequence of scheduled hours were taken away, making this an example of negative punishment.

Extinction

When working at Best Buy I earned commission on each computer and extended service plan I sold. One month they stopped the commission program, resulting in less motivation to sell computers and the extended service plans. In this example the behavior of selling computers and service plans decreased after the reinforcement of commission was removed thus making it an example of extinction.