I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised, but my sabbatical studies in positive reinforcement have changed the way I relate with all animals, both human and other-than-human. That shift has become more obvious after these last 10 days I’ve spent with Jude the cat. While I’ve been sticking around San Francisco this month, my good [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…]
Kohn of Uncertainty: Raising Questions About How to Raise Kids (or Why Positive Reinforcement Might Not Be All It’s Cracked Up to Be)
I’ve just started reading Alfie Kohn’s Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason and I can already tell it will stir my pot. Kohn has no love for positive reinforcement. Quite the opposite, he considers it both dangerous and destructive. Given my investment in the topic and my eagerness to examine [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…]
The Transformative Failure Bow (Part 2 of 2)
The previous post discussed the history and varied application of The Failure Bow, a well-loved improvisational theater technique for returning to the present moment after a seeming mistake. This post, Part 2, explains recent body chemical research that shows how and why the Bow works—and argues for its wider application for creating and spreading confidence, [more…]
Dolphin Training (part 2 of 2)
(This post continues from the previous one. To read that entry first, click here.) The Dolphin Training game shows us how much fun–and success–we can have when learning by positive reinforcement methods, yet so few teachers use the approach the game suggests in their own pedagogies. I’m not yet sure myself what teaching improv–or any [more…]
Why We Do Things We Don’t Want to Do
If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated after spending 3 hours online when you just intended to check your e-mail or after giving up—again—on your promise to get outside, meditate, or eat more healthily, you’re like me. And everyone else I know. What keeps us from turning off the TV, shutting off the computer, or taking [more…]
Self-Reinforcement
It’s easy to think about the benefits of setting up reinforcement for others’ behaviors. If I want the softball team to help each other stay focused, I offer my catcher praise when she returns to the bench after having taken a minute for a conference with her mentally-rattled pitcher. If a student catches himself using [more…]
