Basic concepts
Reinforcement:
It is a fundamental concept of behavioral sociology. Of course it has also been called as “reward”. When discussing the reinforcing role of a thing, the “deprivation level of the actor” gains importance. It is at this level that everything can be meaningful. It goes without saying that “reinforcers can be taught to humans. As soon as we learn to need things, in case of being deprived, the same thing will act as reinforcement (ibid: 409).
There can be negative or positive reinforcements. A reinforcer plays a positive role when environmental changes take on rewards. Negative reinforcement also increases the likelihood of the occurrence of a behavior by removing unpleasant factors.
However, most of the reinforcements are specific to a situation. Some of them are generalized reinforcers, such as power, money and dignity. Power in the absence of deprivation special cases still maintain their effectiveness. In addition, money and dignity can be used to obtain many other things. It is unlikely that a lot of money or outstanding status would relieve the appetite///greed for money or dignity in the person (ibid:412)
Punishment:
Although Ritzer considers punishment as a sub-category of reinforcement, but it seems that it can be discussed separately. In his view, “the consequence that reduces the frequency of a previous reaction, is a punishment” (ibid: 410)
Punishment can be positive or negative. Punishment is positive, when accompanied with usage a distressing stimulus, the behavior was suppressed such as smacking a baby when crying. Punishment is negative when a behavior is suppressed by eliminating or threatening to eliminate a reward. This kind of punishment is called penalty or lack of reinforcers.