PRIMARY REINFORCER Meaning and
Definition
-
A primary reinforcer refers to a stimulus or reward that has inherent value and does not require any conditioning or learning to be recognized as beneficial or pleasurable to an organism. It is considered a fundamental and natural source of motivation that satisfies fundamental physiological or psychological needs.
In the context of psychology and behaviorism, a primary reinforcer serves as a powerful incentive for behavior modification or operant conditioning. It directly addresses basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, warmth, pain relief, or sexual gratification. Due to their biological significance, primary reinforcers elicit an instinctive or reflexive response from individuals, which leads to an increase in the occurrence of the behavior that is being reinforced.
Examples of primary reinforcers include food, water, shelter, sleep, sex, and sensory pleasures like touch and warmth. These stimuli trigger automatic responses in an organism's central nervous system, promoting survival and physiological well-being. Primary reinforcers are considered fundamental building blocks in both animal and human processes of learning and reinforcement.
Primary reinforcers are distinguished from secondary or conditioned reinforcers, which acquire their value and effectiveness through conditioning and association with primary reinforcers or other rewarding stimuli. While primary reinforcers have intrinsic value, secondary reinforcers are learned and can vary from individual to individual.
Etymology of PRIMARY REINFORCER
The term "primary reinforcer" is derived from the field of psychology, specifically from the study of behaviorism.
The word "primary" refers to something fundamental, basic, or primary in nature. In this context, it refers to a stimulus or reward that is inherently and biologically satisfying to an organism.
The word "reinforcer" pertains to the concept of reinforcement, which is a fundamental principle in behaviorism. Reinforcement refers to any stimulus or event that follows a behavior and increases the likelihood of that behavior being repeated in the future.
Therefore, "primary reinforcer" combines these two terms to represent a fundamental and biologically satisfying stimulus or reward, which serves to reinforce behavior in an organism.
