www.lesswrong.com/posts/j8zxC3ZgEBbR9bDH8/slack-and-slack-again-but-less-and-les...
1 correction found
Anything that is positively associated with getting the answer right, with getting the reward, such as correctly multiplying 322 by 214, is called a secondary reinforcer.
This misdefines a secondary reinforcer. In psychology, a secondary reinforcer is a learned reinforcing stimulus like money, praise, or tokens—not any behavior or feature merely associated with getting an answer right.
Full reasoning
A reinforcer in operant conditioning is the consequence or stimulus that increases the likelihood of a behavior. A secondary reinforcer is a reinforcer that has no inherent value by itself but becomes reinforcing because it is associated with primary reinforcers.
So the sentence is too broad and gives the wrong kind of example. "Correctly multiplying 322 by 214" is a behavior/performance, not the reinforcing stimulus itself. It may predict reward, but that does not make it a secondary reinforcer under the standard psychological definition.
Introductory psychology references define secondary reinforcers as things like money, praise, gold stars, poker chips, or tokens—stimuli that acquire reinforcing value through association. They do not define the term as "anything positively associated with getting the reward."
2 sources
- Ch. 6 Key Terms - Psychology 2e | OpenStax
"secondary reinforcer has no inherent value unto itself and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with something else (e.g., money, gold stars, poker chips)"
- 6.3 Operant Conditioning - Psychology 2e | OpenStax
"A secondary reinforcer has no inherent value and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with a primary reinforcer. Praise ... is one example ... Another example, money ... Tokens, which are also secondary reinforcers, can then be traded in for rewards and prizes."