Difference between “Primary Reinforcer” and “Generalized Reinforcer”:
According to B.F. Skinner, reinforcer can be primary reinforcer or generalized reinforcer.
A primary reinforcer is a stimulus that is
naturally reinforcing, such as food, drink, or sex. These stimuli (food, drink,
or sex) are related to an unlearned need or drive. Stimuli that satisfy these
drives tend to be highly reinforcing for most of the organisms. They are referred
to as positive stimuli.
A generalized reinforcer is a stimulus which
has acquired reinforcing properties through repeated pairings with other
reinforcers under various situations; the stimulus (which was previously
neutral) now becomes reinforcing for many behaviors.
For example, if an animal
is always fed from a stainless steel plate, the plate itself comes to acquired
reinforcing properties because it is regularly associated with the food.
Another
example is money which has no intrinsic value; but it acquires its value
through repeated association with the necessities of life.
Generally, a primary reinforcer is one which is related to the organism’s basic
physiological system, for example, hunger or thirst. On the other hand, a generalized reinforcer
does not have intrinsic reinforcing properties for the organism; rather their
reinforcing values are learned because they are associated with some primary
reinforcer.
Thus,
the generalized reinforcer tends to supplement or substitute the primary
reinforcer.