“What is love except for another name for positive reinforcement? Or vice versa.” ~ B.F.Skinner. Even long before I began dog training with positive reinforcement (and parrot training), and studying Applied Behavior Analysis as it relates to pets, I have LOVED this quote from B.F. Skinner. It speaks to me on different levels. I’ll explain below.
Yes, I know love is an abstract and very much subjective in its interpretation (one of the cautions with using labels to describe individuals and learners). These are some of the definitions of love from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
- strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
- warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion
- unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another
Again, a lot of labels in each of these definitions. That being said, probably each of us knows down deep when we are experiencing love for another living being. Whatever that looks or feels like for you is your own very personal interpretation. One thing I can say about myself is that, while it may not always be easy to describe, I know that love – giving and receiving it – makes me feel content, safe and appreciated.
Now let’s look at the definition of positive reinforcement and how it is effective to change behavior. Scientifically speaking, positive reinforcement is a consequence to behavior that is something valued (from the standpoint of the animal doing the behavior) added to the environment that increases the likelihood of that behavior occurring again. In other words, as a teacher or influencer, if you are using positive reinforcement to change or teach behavior, you would contingently deliver that consequence immediately after your learner does what you would like to see, to increase the probability of that behavior (which is more reinforcing than the problem behavior).
Here are some examples of using positive reinforcement with different species.
- If you are a manager and you catch your employee arriving early, showing consideration for other team members, or coming up with a creative idea, immediately let that employee know the awesomeness of what he/she did. How you show it can depend on what you think that employee will value. Often a surprise sticky note placed on the desk with a personal note means a lot but remember, it is the employee who gets to decide whether the sticky note matters.
- If your dog lays on his bed while you are talking on the phone, you could periodically toss your dog a treat to build value for the behavior or laying on the bed (if your dog values the treat).
- If your bird calls out, “Mommy here!”, you can get your bird to do that more to get you to come if you show up immediately after he says “Mommy here!”. Yep, I am embarrassed to say Barnaby, my African Grey, knows me as Mommy. You can read more about that here.
Here are two wonderful videos demonstrating positive reinforcement used with people.
Okay, so I have talked about the definitions of love and positive reinforcement. What about B.F. Skinner’s quote on love speaks to me so clearly?
For me, when I feel love for someone, I look for opportunities to cause that person or non-human animal to feel good and safe. As much as possible, I try to encourage behavior change by making the choice I want to see the easiest and most likely so that I can then follow that choice up with positive outcomes (from the standpoint of that individual). Then I’ll see more of that wanted choice.
However, additionally, what tends to happen naturally when you look to apply positive reinforcement often is a positive association with the teacher, a positive association with doing that behavior, a positive association with that environment. Ultimately it leads to a better quality of life and a stronger relationship between the learner, the teacher, the behavior and the environment.
THAT is why I LOVE that quote!
