Basic Pursuits

Years ago I learned about Skinner Behaviorism. This early experimental psychology focused on positive and negative reinforcement. For example, you might ring a bell, a stimulus. If the rat did what you wanted, you'd give the rat a treat. That's positive reinforcement. If he did something that you did not want, you'd give him a mild electrical shock. That's negative reinforcement.

Experimenters figured out that positive reinforcement produced faster learning. That discovery hugely influenced the ending of corporal punishment in schools.

But all learning isn't so simple. In learning a new habit, sometimes focusing on the negative can be very effective.

I had a friend once who quit smoking. For a long time afterwards, he'd often say out of the blue, "Thank God I don't smoke cigarettes!"

It was as if he took the time to have a mini-celebration several times throughout the day. At lunch, walking down the street, having a beer, whenever. It was all the more powerful when he proclaimed his happiness in front of other people.

When he smoked, there was something about the habit that he didn't like. Maybe it made his throat hurt. Maybe it cost him too much money. Maybe he hated being ruled by the addiction. Whatever it was, he celebrated being rid of it and that reinforced his new non-smoking habit.

Celebrating the end of negatives is a powerful positive reinforcer.

Thank God I'm not getting fat and ruining my pancreas with donuts.

Thank God I don't have those nagging little aches and pains since I started walking three days a week.

One of the oldest celebrations in the world celebrates the end of a negative, Passover, which celebrates the end of bondage.

Changing habits is hard work. Taking the time to celebrate the end of a negative is a powerful reinforcer of a more positive new way of life.

I'm so glad I'm not procrastinating about this post anymore!