Editing Operant conditioning (section)

== Applications ==

Reinforcement and punishment are ubiquitous in human social interactions, and a great many applications of operant principles have been suggested and implemented. 

=== Biological Basis ===
Operant conditioning bridges the field of neurobiology and the field of psychology. It able to do this by demonstrating how exterior behavioral principles correspond with internal processes. While psychologist describe learning in terms of observable behaviors that can be shaped by consequences, neurobiologist share a different sentiment. neurobiologist analyze how these behaviors are underpinned by neural circuits. 

Both positive and negative reinforcement has been shown to activate a reward system in the brain. this is able to take place because of the release of dopamine in specific areas such as the nucleus accumbens. <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Staddon |first=J. E. R. |last2=Cerutti |first2=D. T. |date=2003 |title=Operant conditioning |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12415075 |journal=Annual Review of Psychology |volume=54 |pages=115–144 |doi=10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145124 |issn=0066-4308 |pmc=1473025 |pmid=12415075}}</ref>

=== Tools ===
Tools such as point systems, charts of behavior and token economies are principles that are grounded in operant conditioning. These systems function as conditioned reinforcers, which means that they can be exchanged for primary reinforcers such as a tangible reward.  

===Addiction and dependence===

Positive and negative reinforcement play central roles in the development and maintenance of [[addiction]] and [[drug dependence]]. An addictive drug is [[reward system|intrinsically rewarding]]; that is, it functions as [[#Primary reinforcers|a primary positive reinforcer]] of drug use. The brain's reward system assigns it [[incentive salience]] (i.e., it is "wanted" or "desired"),<ref name="Reinforcement in addiction">{{cite book|year=2016|chapter=Reinforcement principles for addiction medicine; from recreational drug use to psychiatric disorder|journal=Prog. Brain Res.|volume=223|pages=63–76|doi=10.1016/bs.pbr.2015.07.005|pmid=26806771|quote=Abused substances (ranging from alcohol to psychostimulants) are initially ingested at regular occasions according to their positive reinforcing properties. Importantly, repeated exposure to rewarding substances sets off a chain of secondary reinforcing events, whereby cues and contexts associated with drug use may themselves become reinforcing and thereby contribute to the continued use and possible abuse of the substance(s) of choice.&nbsp;...<br />An important dimension of reinforcement highly relevant to the addiction process (and particularly relapse) is secondary reinforcement (Stewart, 1992). Secondary reinforcers (in many cases also considered conditioned reinforcers) likely drive the majority of reinforcement processes in humans. In the specific case of drug [addiction], cues and contexts that are intimately and repeatedly associated with drug use will often themselves become reinforcing&nbsp;... A fundamental piece of Robinson and Berridge's incentive-sensitization theory of addiction posits that the incentive value or attractive nature of such secondary reinforcement processes, in addition to the primary reinforcers themselves, may persist and even become sensitized over time in league with the development of drug addiction (Robinson and Berridge, 1993).&nbsp;...<br />Negative reinforcement is a special condition associated with a strengthening of behavioral responses that terminate some ongoing (presumably aversive) stimulus. In this case we can define a negative reinforcer as a motivational stimulus that strengthens such an "escape" response. Historically, in relation to drug addiction, this phenomenon has been consistently observed in humans whereby drugs of abuse are self-administered to quench a motivational need in the state of withdrawal (Wikler, 1952).|vauthors=Edwards S|title=Neuroscience for Addiction Medicine: From Prevention to Rehabilitation - Constructs and Drugs|series=Progress in Brain Research|isbn=9780444635457}}</ref><ref name="Incentive salience and motivation review">{{cite journal|date=April 2012|title=From prediction error to incentive salience: mesolimbic computation of reward motivation|journal=Eur. J. Neurosci.|volume=35|issue=7|pages=1124–1143|doi=10.1111/j.1460-9568.2012.07990.x|pmc=3325516|pmid=22487042|quote=When a Pavlovian CS+ is attributed with incentive salience it not only triggers 'wanting' for its UCS, but often the cue itself becomes highly attractive – even to an irrational degree. This cue attraction is another signature feature of incentive salience. The CS becomes hard not to look at (Wiers & Stacy, 2006; Hickey et al., 2010a; Piech et al., 2010; Anderson et al., 2011). The CS even takes on some incentive properties similar to its UCS. An attractive CS often elicits behavioral motivated approach, and sometimes an individual may even attempt to 'consume' the CS somewhat as its UCS (e.g., eat, drink, smoke, have sex with, take as drug). 'Wanting' of a CS can turn also turn the formerly neutral stimulus into an instrumental conditioned reinforcer, so that an individual will work to obtain the cue (however, there exist alternative psychological mechanisms for conditioned reinforcement too).|vauthors=Berridge KC}}</ref><ref name="Pleasure system - incentive sensitization">{{cite journal|date=May 2015|title=Pleasure systems in the brain|journal=Neuron|volume=86|issue=3|pages=646–664|doi=10.1016/j.neuron.2015.02.018|pmc=4425246|pmid=25950633|quote=An important goal in future for addiction neuroscience is to understand how intense motivation becomes narrowly focused on a particular target. Addiction has been suggested to be partly due to excessive incentive salience produced by sensitized or hyper-reactive dopamine systems that produce intense 'wanting' (Robinson and Berridge, 1993). But why one target becomes more 'wanted' than all others has not been fully explained. In addicts or agonist-stimulated patients, the repetition of dopamine-stimulation of incentive salience becomes attributed to particular individualized pursuits, such as taking the addictive drug or the particular compulsions. In Pavlovian reward situations, some cues for reward become more 'wanted' more than others as powerful motivational magnets, in ways that differ across individuals (Robinson et al., 2014b; Saunders and Robinson, 2013).&nbsp;... However, hedonic effects might well change over time. As a drug was taken repeatedly, mesolimbic dopaminergic sensitization could consequently occur in susceptible individuals to amplify 'wanting' (Leyton and Vezina, 2013; Lodge and Grace, 2011; Wolf and Ferrario, 2010), even if opioid hedonic mechanisms underwent down-regulation due to continual drug stimulation, producing 'liking' tolerance. Incentive-sensitization would produce addiction, by selectively magnifying cue-triggered 'wanting' to take the drug again, and so powerfully cause motivation even if the drug became less pleasant (Robinson and Berridge, 1993).|vauthors=Berridge KC, Kringelbach ML}}</ref> so as an addiction develops, deprivation of the drug leads to craving.  In addition, stimuli associated with drug use&nbsp;– e.g., the sight of a syringe, and the location of use&nbsp;– become associated with the intense reinforcement induced by the drug.<ref name="Reinforcement in addiction" /><ref name="Incentive salience and motivation review" /><ref name="Pleasure system - incentive sensitization" /> These previously neutral stimuli acquire several properties: their appearance can induce craving, and they can become [[#Secondary reinforcers|conditioned positive reinforcers]] of continued use.<ref name="Reinforcement in addiction" /><ref name="Incentive salience and motivation review" /><ref name="Pleasure system - incentive sensitization" /> Thus, if an addicted individual encounters one of these drug cues, a craving for the associated drug may reappear. For example, anti-drug agencies previously used posters with images of [[drug paraphernalia]] as an attempt to show the dangers of drug use. However, such posters are no longer used because of the effects of incentive salience in causing [[relapse]] upon sight of the stimuli illustrated in the posters.

In drug dependent individuals, negative reinforcement occurs when a drug is [[self-administration|self-administered]] in order to alleviate or "escape" the symptoms of [[physical dependence]] (e.g., [[tremor]]s and sweating) and/or [[psychological dependence]] (e.g., [[anhedonia]], restlessness, irritability, and anxiety) that arise during the state of [[drug withdrawal]].<ref name="Reinforcement in addiction" />

===Animal training===
{{main|Animal training}}
Animal trainers and pet owners were applying the principles and practices of operant conditioning long before these ideas were named and studied, and animal training still provides one of the clearest and most convincing examples of operant control. Of the concepts and procedures described in this article, a few of the most salient are the following: 
(a) availability of primary reinforcement (e.g. a bag of dog yummies); 
(b) the use of secondary reinforcement, (e.g. sounding a clicker immediately after a desired response, then giving yummy); 
(c) contingency, assuring that reinforcement (e.g. the clicker) follows the desired behavior and not something else; 
(d) shaping,  as in gradually getting a dog to jump higher and higher; 
(e) intermittent reinforcement, as in gradually reducing the frequency of reinforcement to induce persistent behavior without satiation; 
(f) chaining, where a complex behavior is gradually constructed from smaller units.<ref>McGreevy, P & Boakes, R."Carrots and Sticks: Principles of Animal Training".(Sydney: "Sydney University Press"., 2011)</ref>

===Applied behavior analysis===
{{main|Applied behavior analysis}}
Applied behavior analysis is the discipline initiated by [[B. F. Skinner]] that applies the principles of conditioning to the modification of socially significant human behavior. It uses the basic concepts of conditioning theory, including conditioned stimulus (S<sup>C</sup>), discriminative stimulus (S<sup>d</sup>), response (R), and reinforcing stimulus (S<sup>rein</sup> or S<sup>r</sup> for reinforcers, sometimes S<sup>ave</sup> for aversive stimuli).<ref name="Pierce 2004"/>

Practitioners of applied behavior analysis (ABA) bring these procedures, and many variations and developments of them, to bear on a variety of socially significant behaviors and issues. In many cases, practitioners use operant techniques to develop constructive, socially acceptable behaviors to replace aberrant behaviors.  The techniques of ABA have been effectively applied in to such things as [[Lovaas model|early intensive behavioral interventions]] for children with an [[autism spectrum disorders|autism spectrum disorder]] (ASD)<ref name="As-in-ABA">{{cite journal|author1=Dillenburger, K.|author2=Keenan, M.|year=2009|title=None of the As in ABA stand for autism: dispelling the myths|journal=J Intellect Dev Disabil|volume=34|issue=2|pages=193–95|doi=10.1080/13668250902845244|pmid=19404840|s2cid=1818966}}</ref> research on the principles influencing [[criminology|criminal behavior]], HIV prevention,<ref>{{cite journal|author1=DeVries, J.E.|author2=Burnette, M.M.|author3=Redmon, W.K.|year=1991|title=AIDS prevention: Improving nurses' compliance with glove wearing through performance feedback|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=24|issue=4|pages=705–11|doi=10.1901/jaba.1991.24-705|pmc=1279627|pmid=1797773}}</ref> conservation of natural resources,<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Brothers, K.J.|author2=Krantz, P.J.|author3=McClannahan, L.E.|year=1994|title=Office paper recycling: A function of container proximity|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=27|issue=1|pages=153–60|doi=10.1901/jaba.1994.27-153|pmc=1297784|pmid=16795821}}</ref> education,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Dardig, Jill C.|author2=Heward, William L.|author3=Heron, Timothy E.|author4=Nancy A. Neef|author5=Peterson, Stephanie|author6=Diane M. Sainato|author7= Cartledge, Gwendolyn|author8=Gardner, Ralph|author9=Peterson, Lloyd R.|author10= Susan B. Hersh |title=Focus on behavior analysis in education: achievements, challenges, and opportunities |publisher= Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall |location=Upper Saddle River, NJ |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-13-111339-8}}</ref> [[gerontology]],<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Gallagher, S.M.|author2=Keenan M.|year=2000|title=Independent use of activity materials by the elderly in a residential setting|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=33|issue=3|pages=325–28|doi=10.1901/jaba.2000.33-325|pmc=1284256|pmid=11051575}}</ref> [[Acceptance and commitment therapy|health and exercise]],<ref>{{cite journal|author1=De Luca, R.V.|author2=Holborn, S.W.|year=1992|title=Effects of a variable-ratio reinforcement schedule with changing criteria on exercise in obese and nonobese boys|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=25|issue=3|pages=671–79|doi=10.1901/jaba.1992.25-671|pmc=1279749|pmid=1429319}}</ref> [[organizational behavior management|industrial safety]],<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Fox, D.K.|author2=Hopkins, B.L.|author3=Anger, W.K.|year=1987|title=The long-term effects of a token economy on safety performance in open-pit mining|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=20|issue=3|pages=215–24|doi=10.1901/jaba.1987.20-215|pmc=1286011|pmid=3667473}}</ref> [[Verbal behavior|language acquisition]],<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Drasgow, E.|author2=Halle, J.W.|author3=Ostrosky, M.M.|year=1998|title=Effects of differential reinforcement on the generalization of a replacement mand in three children with severe language delays|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=31|issue=3|pages=357–74|doi=10.1901/jaba.1998.31-357|pmc=1284128|pmid=9757580}}</ref> littering,<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Powers, R.B.|author2=Osborne, J.G.|author3=Anderson, E.G.|year=1973|title=Positive reinforcement of litter removal in the natural environment|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=6|issue=4|pages=579–86|doi=10.1901/jaba.1973.6-579|pmc=1310876|pmid=16795442}}</ref> [[Behavioral medicine|medical procedures]],<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Hagopian, L.P.|author2=Thompson, R.H.|year=1999|title=Reinforcement of compliance with respiratory treatment in a child with cystic fibrosis|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=32|issue=2|pages=233–36|doi=10.1901/jaba.1999.32-233|pmc=1284184|pmid=10396778}}</ref> parenting,<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Kuhn, S.A.C.|author2=Lerman, D.C.|author3=Vorndran, C.M.|year=2003|title=Pyramidal training for families of children with problem behavior|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=36|issue=1|pages=77–88|doi=10.1901/jaba.2003.36-77|pmc=1284418|pmid=12723868}}</ref> [[Clinical behavior analysis|psychotherapy]],{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} seatbelt use,<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Van Houten, R.|author2=Malenfant, J.E.L.|author3=Austin, J.|author4=Lebbon, A.|year=2005|title=The effects of a seatbelt-gearshift delay prompt on the seatbelt use of motorists who do not regularly wear seatbelts|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=38|issue=2|pages=195–203|doi=10.1901/jaba.2005.48-04|pmc=1226155|pmid=16033166|editor=Vollmer, Timothy}}</ref> [[Clinical behavior analysis|severe mental disorders]],<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Wong, S.E.|author2=Martinez-Diaz, J.A.|author3=Massel, H.K.|author4=Edelstein, B.A.|author5=Wiegand, W.|author6=Bowen, L.|author7=Liberman, R.P.|year=1993|title=Conversational skills training with schizophrenic inpatients: A study of generalization across settings and conversants|journal=Behavior Therapy|volume=24|issue=2|pages=285–304|doi=10.1016/S0005-7894(05)80270-9}}</ref> sports,<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Brobst, B.|author2=Ward, P.|year=2002|title=Effects of public posting, goal setting, and oral feedback on the skills of female soccer players|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=35|issue=3|pages=247–57|doi=10.1901/jaba.2002.35-247|pmc=1284383|pmid=12365738}}</ref> [[Contingency management|substance abuse]], [[Systematic desensitization|phobias]], pediatric feeding disorders, and [[Applied animal behavior|zoo management and care of animals]].<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Forthman, D.L.|author2=Ogden, J.J.|year=1992|title=The role of applied behavior analysis in zoo management: Today and tomorrow|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=25|issue=3|pages=647–52|doi=10.1901/jaba.1992.25-647|pmc=1279745|pmid=16795790}}</ref>  Some of these applications are among those described below.

=== Child behavior – parent management training ===
{{Main|Parent management training}}
Providing positive reinforcement for appropriate child behaviors is a major focus of parent management training. Typically, parents learn to reward appropriate behavior through social rewards (such as praise, smiles, and hugs) as well as concrete rewards (such as stickers or points towards a larger reward as part of an incentive system created collaboratively with the child).<ref name="Kazdin2010">Kazdin AE (2010). Problem-solving skills training and parent management training for oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. ''Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents (2nd ed.),'' 211–226. New York: Guilford Press.</ref> In addition, parents learn to select simple behaviors as an initial focus and reward each of the small steps that their child achieves towards reaching a larger goal (this concept is called "successive approximations").<ref name=Kazdin2010/><ref name="PMTO">Forgatch MS, Patterson GR (2010). Parent management training — Oregon model: An intervention for antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. ''Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents (2nd ed.),'' 159–78. New York: Guilford Press.</ref>

===Economics===
{{main|Behavioral economics}}
{{further|Consumer demand tests (animals)}}
Both psychologists and economists have become interested in applying operant concepts and findings to the behavior of humans in the marketplace. An example 
is the analysis of consumer demand, as indexed by the amount of a commodity that is purchased. In economics, the degree to which price influences consumption is called "the price elasticity of demand." Certain commodities are more elastic than others; for example, a change in price of certain foods may have a large effect on the amount bought, while gasoline and other everyday consumables may be less affected by price changes. In terms of operant analysis, such effects may be interpreted in terms of motivations of consumers and the relative value of the commodities as reinforcers.<ref>Domjan, M. (2009). The Principles of Learning & Behavior. Wadsworth Publishing Company. 6th Edition. pages 244–249.</ref>

===Gambling – variable ratio scheduling===
{{Main|Gambling}}
As stated earlier in this article, a variable ratio schedule yields reinforcement after the emission of an unpredictable number of responses.  This schedule typically generates rapid, persistent responding. Slot machines pay off on a variable ratio schedule, and they produce just this sort of persistent lever-pulling behavior in gamblers. The variable ratio payoff from slot machines and other forms of gambling has often been cited as a factor underlying gambling addiction.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bleda|first1=Miguel Ángel Pérez|last2=Nieto|first2=José Héctor Lozano|date=2012|title=Impulsivity, Intelligence, and Discriminating Reinforcement Contingencies in a Fixed-Ratio 3 Schedule|journal=The Spanish Journal of Psychology|volume=3|issue=15|pages=922–929|doi=10.5209/rev_SJOP.2012.v15.n3.39384|pmid=23156902|s2cid=144193503|id={{ProQuest|1439791203}}}}</ref>

===Military psychology===
{{Main|Military psychology}}

Human beings have an innate resistance to killing and are reluctant to act in a direct, aggressive way towards members of their own species, even to save life.  This resistance to killing has caused infantry to be remarkably inefficient throughout the history of military warfare.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=On Killing: the Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society|last=Grossman|first=Dave|publisher=Little Brown|year=1995|isbn=978-0316040938|location=Boston}}</ref>

This phenomenon was not understood until [[S.L.A. Marshall]] (Brigadier General and military historian) undertook interview studies of WWII infantry immediately following combat engagement. Marshall's well-known and controversial book, Men Against Fire, revealed that only 15% of soldiers fired their rifles with the purpose of killing in combat.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Men Against Fire: the Problem of Battle Command in Future War|last=Marshall|first=S.L.A.|publisher=Infantry Journal|year=1947|isbn=978-0-8061-3280-8|location=Washington}}</ref> Following acceptance of Marshall's research by the US Army in 1946, the Human Resources Research Office of the US Army began implementing new training protocols which resemble operant conditioning methods.  Subsequent applications of such methods increased the percentage of soldiers able to kill to around 50% in Korea and over 90% in Vietnam.<ref name=":1" />  Revolutions in training included replacing traditional pop-up firing ranges with three-dimensional, man-shaped, pop-up targets which collapsed when hit.  This provided immediate feedback and acted as positive reinforcement for a soldier's behavior.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.killology.com/behavioral-psychology|title=Behavioral Psychology |vauthors=Murray KA, Grossman D, Kentridge RW |date=21 October 2018|website=killology.com/behavioral-psychology}}</ref> Other improvements to military training methods have included the timed firing course; more realistic training; high repetitions; praise from superiors; marksmanship rewards; and group recognition. Negative reinforcement includes peer accountability or the requirement to retake courses.  Modern military training conditions [[Midbrain|mid-brain]] response to combat pressure by closely simulating actual combat, using mainly Pavlovian [[classical conditioning]] and [[B. F. Skinner|Skinnerian]] operant conditioning (both forms of [[behaviorism]]).<ref name=":1" /><blockquote>Modern marksmanship training is such an excellent example of behaviorism that it has been used for years in the introductory psychology course taught to all cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point as a classic example of operant conditioning. In the 1980s, during a visit to West Point, B.F. Skinner identified modern military marksmanship training as a near-perfect application of operant conditioning.<ref name=":2"/></blockquote>[[Dave Grossman (author)|Lt. Col. Dave Grossman]] states about operant conditioning and US Military training that:<blockquote>It is entirely possible that no one intentionally sat down to use operant conditioning or behavior modification techniques to train soldiers in this area…But from the standpoint of a psychologist who is also a historian and a career soldier, it has become increasingly obvious to me that this is exactly what has been achieved.<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>

=== Nudge theory ===
{{Main|Nudge theory}}
Nudge theory (or nudge) is a concept in [[behavioural science]], [[political theory]] and [[economics]] which argues that indirect suggestions to try to achieve non-forced [[Compliance (psychology)|compliance]] can [[Social influence|influence]] the motives, incentives and [[decision making]] of groups and individuals, at least as effectively – if not more effectively – than direct instruction, legislation, or enforcement.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

===Praise===
{{Main|Praise}}
The concept of praise as a means of behavioral reinforcement is rooted in B.F. Skinner's model of operant conditioning. Through this lens, praise has been viewed as a means of positive reinforcement, wherein an observed behavior is made more likely to occur by contingently praising said behavior.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kazdin|first1=Alan|title=History of behavior modification: Experimental foundations of contemporary research|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbehavio0000kazd|url-access=registration|date=1978|publisher=University Park Press|location=Baltimore|isbn=9780839112051}}</ref>  Hundreds of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of praise in promoting positive behaviors, notably in the study of teacher and parent use of praise on child in promoting improved behavior and academic performance,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Strain|first1=Phillip S.|last2=Lambert|first2=Deborah L.|last3=Kerr|first3=Mary Margaret|last4=Stagg|first4=Vaughan|last5=Lenkner|first5=Donna A.|date=1983|title=Naturalistic assessment of children's compliance to teachers' requests and consequences for compliance|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=16|issue=2|pages=243–249|doi=10.1901/jaba.1983.16-243|pmid=16795665|pmc=1307879}}</ref><ref name="Garland et al. 2008"/> but also in the study of work performance.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Crowell|first1=Charles R.|last2=Anderson|first2=D. Chris|last3=Abel|first3=Dawn M.|last4=Sergio|first4=Joseph P.|date=1988|title=Task clarification, performance feedback, and social praise: Procedures for improving the customer service of bank tellers|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=21|issue=1|pages=65–71|doi=10.1901/jaba.1988.21-65|pmc=1286094|pmid=16795713}}</ref> Praise has also been demonstrated to reinforce positive behaviors in non-praised adjacent individuals (such as a classmate of the praise recipient) through vicarious reinforcement.<ref name="Kazdin, 1973">{{cite journal|last1=Kazdin|first1=Alan E.|date=1973|title=The effect of vicarious reinforcement on attentive behavior in the classroom|journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis|volume=6|issue=1|pages=71–78|doi=10.1901/jaba.1973.6-71|pmid=16795397|pmc=1310808}}</ref> Praise may be more or less effective in changing behavior depending on its form, content and delivery. In order for praise to effect positive behavior change, it must be contingent on the positive behavior (i.e., only administered after the targeted behavior is enacted), must specify the particulars of the behavior that is to be reinforced, and must be delivered sincerely and credibly.<ref name="Brophy, 1981">{{cite journal|last1=Brophy|first1=Jere|title=On praising effectively|journal=The Elementary School Journal|date=1981|volume=81|issue=5|pages=269–278|jstor=1001606|doi=10.1086/461229|s2cid=144444174}}</ref>

Acknowledging the effect of praise as a positive reinforcement strategy, numerous behavioral and cognitive behavioral interventions have incorporated the use of praise in their protocols.<ref name="Simonsen et al 2008">{{cite journal|last1=Simonsen|first1=Brandi|last2=Fairbanks|first2=Sarah|last3=Briesch|first3=Amy|last4=Myers|first4=Diane|last5=Sugai|first5=George|date=2008|title=Evidence-based Practices in Classroom Management: Considerations for Research to Practice|journal=Education and Treatment of Children|volume=31|issue=1|pages=351–380|doi=10.1353/etc.0.0007|s2cid=145087451}}</ref><ref name="Weisz & Kazdin, 2010">{{cite book|last1=Weisz|first1=John R.|last2=Kazdin|first2=Alan E.|title=Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents|date=2010|publisher=Guilford Press}}</ref> The strategic use of praise is recognized as an evidence-based practice in both classroom management<ref name="Simonsen et al 2008" /> and parenting training interventions,<ref name="Garland et al. 2008">{{cite journal|last1=Garland|first1=Ann F.|last2=Hawley|first2=Kristin M.|last3=Brookman-Frazee|first3=Lauren|last4=Hurlburt|first4=Michael S.|date=May 2008|title=Identifying Common Elements of Evidence-Based Psychosocial Treatments for Children's Disruptive Behavior Problems|journal=Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry|volume=47|issue=5|pages=505–514|doi=10.1097/CHI.0b013e31816765c2|pmid=18356768}}</ref> though praise is often subsumed in intervention research into a larger category of positive reinforcement, which includes strategies such as strategic attention and behavioral rewards.

Several studies have been done on the effect cognitive-behavioral therapy and operant-behavioral therapy have on different medical conditions. When patients developed cognitive and behavioral techniques that changed their behaviors, attitudes, and emotions; their pain severity decreased. The results of these studies showed an influence of cognitions on pain perception and impact presented explained the general efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral therapy (CBT) and Operant-Behavioral therapy (OBT).{{citation needed |date=January 2023}}

===Video games===
{{Main|Compulsion loop}}
The majority{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} of [[video games]] are designed around a [[compulsion loop]], adding a type of positive reinforcement through a variable rate schedule to keep the player playing. This can lead to the pathology of [[video game addiction]].<ref>John Hopson: [https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/behavioral-game-design Behavioral Game Design], [[Gamasutra]], 27 April 2001</ref>

{{Main|Loot box}}
As part of a trend in the [[video game monetization|monetization of video games]] during the 2010s, some games offered [[loot box]]es as rewards or as items purchasable by real world funds. Boxes contains a random selection of in-game items. The practice has been tied to the same methods that slot machines and other gambling devices dole out rewards, as it follows a variable rate schedule. While the general perception that loot boxes are a form of gambling, the practice is only classified as such in a few countries. However, methods to use those items as [[virtual currency]] for [[online gambling]] or trading for real world money has created a [[skin gambling]] market that is under legal evaluation.<ref name="eg pegi">{{cite web | url = http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-11-are-loot-boxes-gambling | title = Are loot boxes gambling? | first = Vic | last = Hood | date = 12 October 2017 | access-date = 12 October 2017 | work = [[Eurogamer]] }}</ref>

=== Operant Conditioning and Defensive Medicine ===

One of the many reasons proposed for the dramatic costs associated with healthcare is the practice of defensive medicine.  Prabhu reviews the article by Cole and discusses how the responses of two groups of neurosurgeons are classic operant behavior.  One group practice in a state with restrictions on medical lawsuits and the other group with no restrictions.  The group of neurosurgeons were queried anonymously on their practice patterns.  The physicians changed their practice in response to a negative feedback (fear from lawsuit) in the group that practiced in a state with no restrictions on medical lawsuits.<ref>Operant Conditioning and the Practice of Defensive Medicine.   Vikram C. Prabhu World Neurosurgery, 2016-07-01, Volume 91, Pages 603–605</ref>