self-reinforcementn.
/ˌsɛlfriːɪnˈfɔːsm(ə)nt/, U.S. /ˌsɛlfˌriᵻnˈfɔrsmənt/ 1. Reinforcement or strengthening of oneself or itself.
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1895 Minutes 37th Ann. Meeting Gen. Assoc. Congregational Churches & Ministers Indiana 27 Our inherent resources are constantly increasing, and we have more power of self-nutrition and self-reinforcement than ever before.
1909 Jrnl. Nerv. & Mental Dis. Jan. 23 What..is the object of rational psychotherapy?.. Is it not to make the patient independent of the physician,..to evoke his latent powers of resistance and self-reinforcement?
1946 Trans. Amer. Instit. Mining & Metall. Engin. 167 658/2 Manganese is self-reinforcing..and this self-reinforcement is greatly augmented by the presence of nickel.
1999 Multiscale Modelling of Materials 538 254 The added coarse particles grew preferentially and promoted self-reinforcement in the real material.
2. Originally Psychology. Reinforcement of a behaviour by means of a self-administered reward or punishment. More generally: the reinforcing of one's own beliefs or patterns of behaviour. Cf. reinforcement n. 1c.
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1953 B. F. Skinner Sci. & Human Behavior xv. 237 Self-reinforcement of operant behavior presupposes that the individual has it in his power to obtain reinforcement but does not do so until a particular response has been emitted.
1973 Jrnl. Genetic Psychol. 123 86 Generally self-reinforcement studies have not attempted to deal with the classroom learning situation.
1984 J. Malec in B. A. Edelstein & E. T. Couture Behavioral Assessment & Rehabilit. Traumatically Brain-damaged 125 Persons with a very limited capacity for self-reinforcement can become unusually dependent on external sources of reinforcement.
2001 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 8 May 31 Reward yourself—self-reinforcement has a powerful effect on developing a ‘do it now’ attitude.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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