Negative Reinforcing Stimulus (Noun)
Meaning
A reinforcing stimulus whose removal serves to decrease the likelihood of the response that produced it.
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- The removal of the alarm clock beeping noise served as a negative reinforcing stimulus, making the person more likely to shut it off in the future by hitting the snooze button immediately.
- For the screaming child, the crowd's attention could be a negative reinforcing stimulus as the adults surrounding it tried to ignore the child, until it stopped crying.
- The customer didn't like the in-store music, which ended up being a negative reinforcing stimulus when the business noticed overall customer dissatisfaction and decided to change its playlist.
- Firmly shutting the door before the dog entered served as a negative reinforcing stimulus by discouraging the animal from running into the house in the first place.
- The loud, high-pitched sound produced by nails on a chalkboard could be a negative reinforcing stimulus that deters most people from performing the action again due to its annoyance.