This page is a component of the Glossary of the Dog Science, CBC
Dog Training Workshop, and an element of the Dog Science Network
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Conditioned Reinforcers
Conditioned reinforcers are rewarding stimuli that only take on their reinforcing properties after they have long been associated with primary reinforcers. In other words, they are reinforcers that your subject must learn to value.
For example, for your dog, being told that he is a good dog is not, by nature, a rewarding experience. However, after the phrase has long been associated with being fussed over, fed, and massaged, the words will, themselves, take on reinforcing properties.
Conditioned reinforcers are always at least somewhat less potent than primary reinforcers.