Table Of ContentTHE POWER OF REINFORCEMENT
SUNY series,Alternatives in Psychology
Michael A.Wallach,editor
T
HE
P
OWER
OF
R
EINFORCEMENT
Stephen Ray Flora
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
Published by
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© 2004 State University of New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Flora,Stephen Ray,1963–
The Power of reinforcement / Stephen Ray Flora.
p. cm. — (SUNY series,alternatives in psychology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-5915-2 (alk.paper) — ISBN 0-7914-5916-0 (pbk :alk.paper)
1.Reinforcement (Psychology) I.Title. II.Series.
BF319.5.R4F58 2004
153.8’5—dc21
2002045264
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C
ONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction ix
Part I
Myths and Misrepresentations of Reinforcement
1. Reinforcement as “Rat Psychology” 3
2. Insults and Mischievous Misrepresentations:
M&Ms for the Retarded 23
3. Carrot-and-Stick Control,Bribery,and Value 27
4. The Myth that “Extrinsic Rewards Undermine
Intrinsic Interest” 39
5. The Reality of Extrinsic Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation 61
6. Reinforcement Crushes Creativity 75
7. Reinforcement Creates Creativity 83
8. The Myth that Imitation and Instruction Following
Invalidate Reinforcement Theory 105
Part II
For Better or Worse.In Sickness and in Health:
Reinforcement in Action
9. Reinforcement of Achievement and Underachievement 117
10. Reinforcement in Education 127
11. Reinforcement in Drug Use,Abuse,and Treatment 155
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vi THE POWER OF REINFORCEMENT
12. Reinforcement and Crime,Misconduct,and Correction 181
13. Reinforcement in the Cause,Course,and Correction of
Depression,Chronic Pain,and Illness 199
References 225
Appendix 1.The Selection of Behavior 245
Appendix 2.Basic Terms 251
Name Index 259
Subject Index 265
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the support and help
of my parents, Glenda Christine Flora and Joseph Martin Flora.
Although that may sound like a cliche,as the introduction reveals,in this
case the cliche holds true. Additionally, my mother served as the reader
and editor of the first draft and other early drafts.After each convenient
breaking point I mailed the work to her in North Carolina.Ever the out-
standing English composition teacher,soon she returned the work marked
with writing and grammatical corrections and other suggestions for
improvement. Often she or my father included useful articles and refer-
ences about the material that contributed to the richness of the work.My
father offered several kind suggestions to make the work less polemic yet
still remain convincing. My parents’ steady support and encouragement
was invaluable.
I have been fortunate to have numerous outstanding teachers (too
numerous to give them all proper credit) that have been instrumental in
shaping my academic accomplishments, including this book. Specifically,
my major professor at the University of Georgia, William B. Pavlik, not
only gave me stimulating experimental problems to work on (e.g., “rule
governed behavior and reinforcement”) and opened his laboratory to me,
but he also opened his office and home to me.Taking turns at the key-
board,I learned to write concisely in Dr.Pavlik’s basement.His guidance,
early collaboration, and warmth set me down the path that led to this
work.
The first seed of this book may have been sown as an undergraduate
in Dr. David Eckerman’s advanced learning course at the University of
North Carolina.For my term paper in Dr.Eckerman’s class I attempted to
explain the material of my social psychology class in terms of basic learn-
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ing and reinforcement processes.Dr.Eckerman has remained a touchstone
for me over the years and has been highly supportive of my work.
Philosopher Bruce Waller was kind enough to be one of the first read-
ers of a completed part 1.Although I had requested a harsh critical read-
ing and marking,his feedback consisted almost exclusively of reinforcing
comments.Although I did not realize it until I got it,his reinforcing sup-
port was exactly what I needed to press on and his tips lightened the load.
Likewise,Molly Burdette was a supportive early reader of many parts
of the book.In fact,James “Bubskiluv”and Molly Burdette kindly let their
family (Brendan,Katie,Colin,Brigid) become my surrogate family during
the largely solitary endeavor of writing this book.They let me in the back
door,fed me,and like a stray dog I never left.
Attendance at the yearly meetings of the Winter Conference on
Animal Learning (first suggested by Dr. Pavlik) and the Association for
Behavior Analysis have become invaluable as sources of inspiration and
information. Already familiar with his work, at an early meeting of the
Winter Conference I was fortunate to meet Professor Robert Eisenberger.
Since that meeting he and his work have remained an inspiration.In fact
Eisenberger’s work forms the basis for much of this book.Robert Eisen-
berger has kept me involved in the area,provided me with any information
or material I needed and is an untiring source of support and kindness.
Other constant supporters during the sometimes dark and stormy seas
of my life during the writing of this book who deserve acknowledgment
include Robert Morgan, Coreena Casey, Jane Kestner, Paul Weisbecker,
and again my parents.
Although I have had great editorial, grammatical, and spelling sup-
port, given my atrocious spelling and grammar skills, no one could be
expected to catch all my errors. I am solely responsible for all errors that
remain.I understand that the final tasks of an author before a book ends
up in a reader’s hands is the proofreading of the page proofs and the com-
pilation of the indexes.These tasks would have been brutally tedious,soli-
tary, and frustrating for me, but Sarah Holowach’s assistance made the
work humorous and fun.Thank you all.
I
NTRODUCTION
Whydo some children skip school to get drunk,“high,”or “wasted”on
drugs,while other children get to school on time,work hard on their
homework, and participate in extracurricular activities such as bands,
debate clubs, interscholastic athletics, or plays? It is for the same reason
that one child with severe developmental disabilities bangs his head on the
floor and repeatedly hits himself in the head until the cumulation of blows
results in detached retinas and blindness while another child with equally
severe developmental disabilities dresses and eats independently and uses
sign language to communicate his wants and needs instead of relying on
self-abuse.It is for the same reason that one elderly person takes numer-
ous prescription drugs for pain,constantly complains of her ailments,and
frequently visits the doctor while another elderly person in the same phys-
ical condition takes no prescriptions, hardly ever complains, or visits the
doctor but instead attends continuing education classes at the local college,
helps her grandchildren with their homework,and participates in book and
dance clubs.The reason why all these people do what they do—the reason
why everyone does what they do—is that people do what they are reinforced
for doing.
Reinforcement is a basic process in nature. Understanding the rein-
forcement process is one way to understand behavior—why people do
what they do.Other frameworks can be used to understand behavior.One
can use a physiological or biological framework or one can use a poetic or
artistic approach to understand behavior. While other approaches to
explain behavior may have their place, explaining behavior from a rein-
forcement perspective has the advantages of being straightforward,directly
observable, testable, and parsimonious (as simple as possible without
“excess explanatory baggage”), and most important, when the reinforce-
ix
