Conditioned reinforcer

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A conditioned reinforcer, also known as a "secondary reinforcer" is a stimulus that does not hold a positive or negative meaning. This secondary reinforcer stimulus is then paired with a primary reinforcer until it acquires the same reinforcement properties associated with the primary reinforcer.

In the form of animal training called "clicker training", the clicker becomes the conditioned reinforcer after it's repetitively paired with a positive stimulus primary reinforcer such as food, a treat, a toy, affection, etc.

[edit] References

http://www.clickertraining.com/glossary

http://www.psychology.uiowa.edu/Faculty/wasserman/Glossary/reinforcement.html