Anyone that is telling you that Positive Reinforcement is all positive – is an idiot and they are lying to you. Positive Reinforcement isn’t have a treat and affection – it is by definition the removal of Negative Reinforcement. Yin and Yang folks – you can’t have one without the other.
And Negative Reinforcements remove Positive Reinforcement. The forced application of Negative Reinforcement – a slap on the ass – is called Punishment. That’s the Behavioral Psychology 101 that will change your life.
What trainers, behaviorists and vets are selling you is a complete misrepresentation of Positive Reinforcement. What they are selling you is Primary Inducements – look it up – the bribe – the treat – do something for me and I’ll give you a morsel of food.
Is that what your relationship has been reduced to? Raise a human child under that banner – and what do you think it’s going to create? Expectation of course – but real Operant Conditioning creates anticipation – not expectation. And when you understand that anticipation – expecting the worst? Your life is going to change – that I promise.
Lets make the Behavioral Science of B.F Skinner make some sense – lets break it down.
Negative Reinforcements of course remove Positive Reinforcements. And Negative Reinforcements generate behaviors of fight and flight. So – lets use an example. Fear of spiders…
Are you scared of spiders? Well – you’re sitting on the couch reading a book – and a spider crosses the floor in front of you. What do you do as a response? Do you pick up the spider and throw it outside? Do you kill the spider? Well – that’s called your natural “fight” response – also known as aggression due to fear – you are removing the negative reinforcement. Do you scream and run away instead? Well that is called your natural “flight” response – also known as reactivity due to fear – removing yourself from that Negative Reinforcement – that’s called Positive Reinforcement. Fight and flight – aggression and reactivity. But lets behaviorally euthanize the dog for the same responses – cause people don’t understand the behavior? They don’t understand their own behaviors – we are no different. The causes of human behavior is no different from that of the dog, the pigeon or the rat etc.
The spider in this case is a Negative Reinforcement – and it’s going to generate behaviors in you. You were in a calm state on the couch – in Positive Reinforcement. Well – that Negative Reinforcement removed your Positive Reinforcement – and as a result – your Positive Reinforcement became fight and flight – aggression or reactivity. The removal of the negative reinforcement – or the removal of yourself from the negative reinforcement. One way or another – the Negative Reinforcement is going to be removed.
Now does it make sense? But the dog right? Lets do some real Radical Behaviorism – lets replace you with your dog. And run through the same scenario – lets say the dog is afraid of spiders. Sounds ridiculous, pretty radical isn’t it?
Lets take the dog that is in a muzzle and a leash – you’re pre-emtively taking away their very ability to fight and flight. You have forcefully taken away the dogs Positive Reinforcement when they are in a fear state. I dare you do that to your child – it would be called abuse wouldn’t it? Oh, but the sentient dog. By putting a muzzle and leash on a dog – that is the worst punishment you can do to a dog. What if I tied your hands and taped your mouth and threw you into a boxing ring? Would that be fair? And it also begs the question – does your dog know that you have their back? Cause if they don’t know it – that makes it all the worse.
Now – you see a spider. Would me shoving food in your face fix your fear? Would a slap across the face or a taser hit fix your fear? Would you do it to your child? No – you would try to help your child to overcome the fear – but not with the dog. No, they get reward and punishment – not understanding. I hate to break it to you – your dog is a very emotional being too.
You see – when a dog is growling or barking at something in the environment – that thing in the environment is a Negative Reinforcement – that is shaping the dogs behavior to fight or flight. The dog wants to chase away that Negative Reinforcement – the dog is displaying Positive Reinforcement – and you are forcefully applying Negative Reinforcement.
There is a Negative Reinforcement in the environment that is basically punishing the dog. The dog owner is applying Negative Reinforcement – and or reward or punishment. Dog owner – now you have BECOME the Negative Reinforcement. Ever think that it’s you that is generating the behaviors of fight and flight in the dog? Feeding treats are we? Now you’re rewarding the dog being triply punished. Using an e-collar and or prong? Now you’re slathering on the punishment on top of the other few Negative Reinforcement. How’s that for basic behavioral psychology 101? Make more sense now?
And people have the nerve to ask – Why isn’t this garbage working? Have you figured it out yet? Does it make sense now?
Then please – go tell everyone else.
What is being sold to you as Positive Reinforcement under Skinner is actually Primary Inducements under Konrad Most. Primary Inducements are just one Quadrant of the Quadrants of IGP dog training. Skinner had nothing to do with this crap – but they blame Skinner – and hide Konrad – why? You should ask me that question.
Everyone starts off in Positive Reinforcement – cause hey – it’s the good one. Well, you start off in Primary Inducement and before long, you will be using the rest of the quadrants. Primary Inducements, Secondary Inducements, Primary Compulsive Inducements and Secondary Compulsive inducement. There is your reward and punishment. Skinner would tell you that reward and punishment contingencies are the reverse of reinforcing. So what gives? Ready to start asking questions?
Zak George and people like him? They are the bread and butter of what you know as balanced training – the 4 quadrants of IGP.