Separating the strengthening and discriminative properties of positive reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is well researched regarding the strengthening and maintenance of the response that it is contingent on. The many different schedules of reinforcement control different rates and patterns of operant behavior. Less well researched are the discriminative properties of positive reinforcement on operant behavior. At reinforcer delivery, the operant behavior stops as the organism engages in collecting and consuming the reinforcer, and some schedules, such as fixed-ratio, control long pauses in the operant after reinforcer delivery. These are S-delta functions of reinforcement delivery. S-dee functions are when reinforcer delivery controls a change in operant behavior after the reinforcer, as seen in chaining or response sequences. Separating the strengthening and discriminative properties of reinforcement will be illustrated with examples from research with animal subjects. Discriminative functions of reinforcement are important for application but are infrequent topics in basic and applied research.