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Related Concept Videos

Operant Conditioning01:21

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning, a key concept in behavioral psychology, involves using reinforcement and punishment to alter the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. B.F. introduced this type of conditioning. Skinner focused on voluntary behaviors and the consequences that follow them, influencing whether these behaviors will be strengthened or diminished.
Reinforcement in operant conditioning can be positive or negative, both of which serve to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Positive...
Incentive Theory: Pull Theory of Motivation01:18

Incentive Theory: Pull Theory of Motivation

Incentive theory, or the "pull theory" of motivation, suggests that external rewards primarily drive behavior. Individuals are motivated to engage in activities when they anticipate a desirable outcome. This is why people often work hard for promotions or study intensively to achieve high grades. These incentives can be tangible, physical rewards such as money or promotions, or intangible, non-physical rewards like praise and social recognition.
The theory differentiates between intrinsic and...
Timing and Consequences on Behavior01:08

Timing and Consequences on Behavior

In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective. 
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant factor...
Law of Effect01:06

Law of Effect

B.F. Skinner, a prominent figure in behavioral psychology, introduced operant conditioning by emphasizing the role of consequences in shaping behavior. This theory builds upon the law of effect proposed by Edward Thorndike, which posits that behaviors followed by satisfying outcomes are likely to be repeated. In contrast, those followed by unsatisfying outcomes are less likely to recur.
Edward Thorndike's foundational work involved studying learning in animals, particularly using puzzle boxes...
Self-Regulation01:25

Self-Regulation

Self-regulation, also known as self-control, encompasses a range of cognitive and behavioral processes that allow individuals to adjust their internal states and outward actions to align with socially acceptable norms and long-term goals. It plays a fundamental role in adaptive functioning, from resisting impulsive behaviors to persisting through challenging tasks. While its benefits are widely recognized, self-regulation is not limitless. Muraven and Baumeister's theory posits that...
Punishment01:27

Punishment

Negative reinforcement and punishment are often confused but serve distinct functions in behavior modification. Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, increases the likelihood of a desired behavior, while punishment decreases it.
Punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus, such as scolding, to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus, such as taking away a favorite toy, to decrease behavior.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
06:11

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

Controllability Determines the Incentive Effect of Reward and Punishment: EEG Evidence.

Yanru Zhan1, Fei Dong1, Yan Zhang1,2

  • 1Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.

Psychophysiology
|June 2, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Anticipating controllable rewards or punishments enhances behavioral speed without impacting accuracy. This heightened sensitivity to controllable incentives is reflected in brain activity, particularly in cue-related neural responses.

Keywords:
ERPcontrollabilitypunishmentrewardsalience prediction error

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Last Updated: Jun 3, 2026

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
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12:09

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Decision Making

Background:

  • Anticipating rewards and punishments influences behavior.
  • The impact of controllability on these incentive effects is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate how controllability affects the integration of reward and punishment information.
  • Examine the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying these effects using electroencephalography (EEG).

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments using the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task.
  • EEG recordings to measure brain activity.
  • Manipulated controllability of reward and punishment delivery.

Main Results:

  • Controllable incentives (rewards in Exp 1, punishments in Exp 2) significantly improved reaction times without affecting accuracy.
  • Cue-related event-related potentials (ERPs) like N2, P3, contingent negative variation (CNV), and stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN) were modulated by controllable incentives.
  • Feedback-related negativity (FRN) and feedback-P3 supported the salience prediction error account.

Conclusions:

  • Individuals show heightened sensitivity to controllable incentives compared to uncontrollable ones.
  • Controllability influences both behavioral performance and neural processing of reward and punishment information.