The Relationship Between Self-Reinforcement and Self-Esteem (B.F. Skinner)

According to B.F. Skinner, "reinforcement" is anything within the environment that strengthens a behavior. In this sense he defines both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement and their affects on behavior. A positive reinforcer is one that increases the probability of a given behavior; whereas a negative reinforcer increases the probability that a preceding behavior will occur, i.e. avoiding loud noises. To this end, it is hypothesized that a person with high frequency of positive self-reinforcement is likely to have high self-esteem.
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