The Role of Emotions in Reinforcement: Response Selection in Humans

Abstract

Historically, researchers have never quite been able to agree as to the role of emotions, if any, when behavior is selected by its consequences. A brief review of findings from several fields suggests that in contingency-shaped behavior, motivating events, often unconscious, seem needed for reinforcement to select behavior. In rule-governed behavior, on the other hand, conscious feelings may be necessary for reinforcement to affect behavior. I conclude that the relevant literature broadly supports Skinner’s (1986) claim that reinforcing stimuli have both a “pleasing” and a “strengthening” effect, and that pleasure resulting from a reinforcer does not necessarily reinforce behavior.