Negative Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement have a similar goal of encouraging desirable behaviors.
WorkSafeBC - Supervisor Duties
Whereas positive reinforcement involves the reward of good behavior to encourage its recurrence, negative reinforcement works by eliminating negative consequences to increase the likelihood of desired behaviors.
Employees driven primarily by the fear of negative consequences tend to perform only the bare minimum required to avoid punishment, often not exerting additional effort. As a result, if a supervisor's goal is solely to enhance compliance with mandatory safety rules, negative reinforcement might work. However, for encouraging discretionary behaviors, such as making suggestions or active involvement in safety initiatives, negative reinforcement is unlikely to be effective.
A prime example of negative reinforcement in safety is the OSHA inspection process, which primarily focuses on rule compliance. During these inspections, if employers are found to meet the compliance standards, they avoid receiving citations and potential penalties from OSHA. This scenario motivates employers to aim for compliance. However, this approach often falls short in encouraging a deeper commitment to achieving safety excellence.
Some other examples of the ways we might employ negative reinforcement include:
- Employees adhere to safety rules to avoid reprimands or being yelled at.
- Employees increase their work pace to prevent the necessity of working overtime.
- Employees resort to taking shortcuts to avoid being in trouble for not meeting work schedules.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
7-4. Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?
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