What behavior do you really want to encourage? Today’s episode starts with the mind-blowing wonder of Lisa’s recent night out at a magic show (1:41) before Lisa and Ted together jump into the realm of positive reinforcement (11:30). Ted helps clarify some commonly misused terminology (17:59) before sharing some thoughts about the game “Dolphin Training” [more…]
AAAACCKK!!! Here’s a Wince-Worthy Example of How NOT to Use a Clicker
Ah, the sting of watching a beloved technique get twisted into a pain-producer. One of the most effective tools at the disposal of positive reinforcement is a clicker, a small device that generates a clearly audible “click” for marking a particular behavior in a particular moment. It doesn’t carry any of the emotional variation of [more…]
A Positive-Minded Primer on Punishment and Reinforcement–with a Buddhist Twist (Part 2 of 2)
[This is the second half of a two-part post. Part 1 can be found here.] Negative Reinforcement (R-) makes a wanted behavior more likely by taking away or reducing something the learner does not enjoy. It “eliminates an aversive,” as they say in the field. In this sense, it’s a kind of relief from unpleasantness. [more…]
A Positive-Minded Primer on Punishment and Reinforcement–with a Buddhist Twist (Part 1 of 2)
People often misunderstand positive reinforcement because those of us who espouse and employ the technique can get sloppy with our definitions. As we’ve discussed before, for example, the “positive” in positive reinforcement need not mean ‘happy,’ ‘kind,’ or ‘joyful.’ It simply means “added in,” as in the reinforcer added in to make a behavior more [more…]
Queen of the Hill: Punishment or Principled Practice?
In general as a coach, I choose to avoid using punishment as a motivator. The method reeks of domination, intimidation, and fear, all of which poison the waters of learning. While punishment may sometimes ‘succeed’ in the short term—it also breeds resentment and disenchantment. Even then, as my friend and colleague Luca Canever points [more…]
Positively Tricky
We use the word “positive” to mean many different things—and muddy our waters of understanding as a result. In the behavioral sciences, in the strictest sense, the word positive means “something added in.” In positive reinforcement training, then, “positive” means “treat” or reinforce added within a setting to make a particular behavior more likely to [more…]
