ABSTRACT
It will be recalled from Chapter 2 that the ability to obtain and provide rewards features prominently in attempts to define interpersonal skill. Deficits in this respect can have negative personal and interpersonal consequences. Reviews of the area have shown correlations between interpersonal skill deficits, inability to gain positive reinforcement and poor psychological well-being (Segrin and Taylor, 2007; Segrin et al., 2007). Having the ability to reward (i.e. rewardingness) is a key dimension of interaction that plays a central role in friendship formation and personal attraction (Foley and Duck, 2006; Smith and Mackie, 2007). In professional circles the ability to reinforce effectively, during dealings
Box 4.1 Everyday examples of reinforcement
• An infant makes its first attempt at ‘Mummy’ and the adoring mother responds with enraptured smiles, hugs and kisses
• A pupil who has been struggling with quadratic equations gets them all right for the first time and the attentive teacher lavishes generous praise
• The striker for the home team scores a goal and is mobbed by his team mates while the frenetic fans chant his name in exultation
• Someone in the group tells a funny story and the other members erupt in laughter
• A sales executive beats the monthly target and earns the heart-felt congratulations of the sales team
• A learner driver manages to complete a U-turn for the first time and the instructor smiles in recognition and gives a ‘thumbs-up’ sign
In all of these cases it is likely that the person reacted to in each of these positive ways will be influenced subsequently to strive to do similar things in future situations. When the individual does so, his or her actions (scoring goals, telling funny stories, saying ‘Mummy’, etc.) are said to have been reinforced.
