Reinforcement vs. Bribery: Is there a Difference? 

We often get questions about the difference between reinforcement and bribery.  Isn’t giving something to your child so that they will engage in a desired behavior bribery?  I don’t want to bribe my child to make them do something.  

In reality, reinforcement and bribery couldn’t be more opposites.  

Bribery

Bribery is very reactive to a situation.  For instance, your child starts to tantrum because he/she wants that chocolate bar that was seen at the checkout counter.  When you say, “If you stop crying, you can have the chocolate bar” that is considered bribery.  It happens after the behavior has already occurred.  What does your child learn from this interaction?  The louder I tantrum, the faster I will be offered that chocolate bar.

Reinforcement  

Reinforcement requires a bit of planning and prediction.  For example,  you can predict that your child is going to tantrum for that chocolate bar at the check out counter.  Therefore, before walking into the store, you are going to say, “First let’s get through the store calmly, then you can have the chocolate bar”  “First calm, then bar.” You are going to write this down for your child and/or offer reminders as you shop.  Then when you get to the check out counter, you buy that chocolate bar as a reward for staying calm.  In this scenario, what does your child learn?  When I stay calm, I get rewarded. For more information, check out our blog.