Reinforcer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A particular element that encourages a repeated action through positive outcomes is identified as a behavior-enhancing factor
2. A type of consequence that promotes the repetition of an action by providing rewarding feedback is recognized as a behavior-supporting mechanism
3. An entity or factor that strengthens behavior through the provision of favorable results serves to encourage a repetition of actions

Etymology: Reinforcer is a plain piece of English machinery: "reinforce" with the agent suffix "-er" attached. The verb came into English from Old French "renforcier," which itself came from "enforcier," meaning to strengthen or make more forceful. Its prefix "re-" in this case carries the sense of repeating or intensifying, so the verb means to add force again and again to something already in place. The "-er" ending has a long pedigree of its own. It descends from the Latin suffix "-arius," which marked a person or thing connected with a task, and it passed through Old French and Middle English before settling into the English form used to name the agent of an action. Attaching it to "reinforce" produced a noun for whatever does the strengthening. In psychology, the noun narrowed to a technical sense: any stimulus or outcome that makes a behaviour more likely to recur. The word thus moved from describing physical support, such as a bar that stiffens a wall, to describing rewards that shape conduct.

Synonyms: supporter, strengthener

Antonyms: weaken, detractor