Editing Reinforcement (section)

===Primary and secondary reinforcers<span class="anchor" id="Conditioned reinforcer"></span>===

A ''primary reinforcer'', sometimes called an ''unconditioned reinforcer'', is a stimulus that does not require [[associative learning|pairing with a different stimulus]] in order to function as a reinforcer and most likely has obtained this function through the evolution and its role in species' survival.<ref>Skinner, B.F. (1974). About Behaviorism</ref>{{page needed|date=December 2024}} Examples of primary reinforcers include food, water, and sex. Some primary reinforcers, such as certain drugs, may mimic the effects of other primary reinforcers. While these primary reinforcers are fairly stable through life and across individuals, the reinforcing value of different primary reinforcers varies due to multiple factors (e.g., genetics, experience). Thus, one person may prefer one type of food while another avoids it. Or one person may eat much food while another eats very little. So even though food is a primary reinforcer for both individuals, the value of food as a reinforcer differs between them.

A ''secondary reinforcer'', sometimes called a '''conditioned reinforcer'''<!--Redirected here - bolded per MOS:BOLD-->, is a stimulus or situation that has acquired its function as a reinforcer after [[associative learning|pairing with a stimulus]] that functions as a reinforcer. This stimulus may be a primary reinforcer or another conditioned reinforcer (such as money). 

When trying to distinguish primary and secondary reinforcers in human examples, use the "caveman test." If the stimulus is something that a caveman would naturally find desirable (e.g. candy) then it is a primary reinforcer. If, on the other hand, the caveman would not react to it (e.g. a dollar bill), it is a secondary reinforcer. As with primary reinforcers, an organism can experience satisfaction and deprivation with secondary reinforcers.