Susie, Sally, and Serena are roommates. Susie and Sally are neat freaks, but Serena is a slob. Both Susie and Sally want to use reinforcement to get Serena to start picking up her messes. Susie wants to use positive reinforcement as her technique, and Sally wants to use negative reinforcement. Devise a plan for Susie and another for Sally based on each person's reinforcement style.
We'll be glad to comment on YOUR plan.
Positive reinforcement involves giving a stimulus that is liked, while negative reinforcement is taking away a stimulus that is disliked.
I hope that gets you started.
Susie's Positive Reinforcement Plan:
Positive reinforcement involves providing a reward or incentive to increase the likelihood of a desired behavior. In this case, Susie wants to encourage Serena to start picking up her messes. Here's a plan that utilizes positive reinforcement:
1. Identify a desired behavior: Susie needs to define a specific behavior she wants to reinforce in Serena, such as "Serena cleans up her mess immediately after making it."
2. Offer rewards: Susie should determine what type of rewards or incentives would motivate Serena. These rewards could be based on Serena's interests, such as giving her extra time for activities she enjoys or buying her something she wants.
3. Set clear expectations: Susie should express her expectations to Serena by explaining the desired behavior and the rewards she will receive for meeting that expectation. For example, Susie can tell Serena, "If you clean up your messes right away, I'll give you an extra hour to watch your favorite TV show."
4. Consistency and immediate reinforcement: Whenever Serena demonstrates the desired behavior of cleaning up after herself, Susie needs to immediately provide the promised reward. This reinforces the connection between Serena's behavior and the positive outcome, increasing the likelihood of Serena engaging in the behavior in the future.
5. Gradually reduce rewards: As Serena gets into the habit of cleaning up after herself consistently, Susie can gradually reduce the frequency or magnitude of the rewards. The behavior should eventually become a self-reinforcing habit for Serena.
Sally's Negative Reinforcement Plan:
Negative reinforcement involves removing an undesirable stimulus to increase the probability of a specific behavior occurring. Sally wants to utilize negative reinforcement to motivate Serena to start cleaning up. Here's a plan based on negative reinforcement:
1. Identify an aversive stimulus: Sally needs to identify something that Serena finds undesirable and wants to avoid, such as having to do an unpleasant chore or not being able to borrow clothes from Sally.
2. Clearly communicate consequences: Sally should inform Serena of the consequence or aversive stimulus that will be removed if she starts cleaning up her messes. For instance, Sally can say, "If you clean up your messes, I won't assign you any additional chores for the week."
3. Consistent application: Whenever Serena demonstrates the desired behavior of cleaning up, Sally needs to immediately eliminate or reduce the aversive stimulus. By doing so, Serena will associate the behavior of cleaning up with the relief or avoidance of the undesirable consequence.
4. Encourage habit formation: Sally should consistently apply negative reinforcement every time Serena cleans up, helping to form a habit of cleaning up after herself.
5. Gradually reduce the aversive stimulus: As Serena becomes more consistent in cleaning up, Sally can gradually reduce the aversive stimulus. The ultimate goal is for Serena to maintain the behavior of tidiness without any negative consequences.