Positive Reinforcement

One of the main things that every parent, manager, teacher etc. should know about is positive reinforcement.

Most of them do it without realising it (the good ones at least). Each time a child is rewarded for getting good grades, or an employee is thanked for doing a good job, positive reinforcement is at work.

But most people don’t appreciate how important it is. To help us understand this lets consider the flip side of the coin - negative reinforcement.

Imagine that each time you score a goal in a football game the crowd boos. Or each time you use a shaver you cut your face. Most human beings will soon hate shaving and scoring goals.

Positive reinforcement reaches into all areas of our lives. It’s the main means by which we come to love products. It’s how we come to form our relationships. It’s deeply ingrained in us as human beings.

If you find negative reinforcement in your products, or your relationships, or anything else then you need to get rid of it. It’s a rot which just gets worse and worse.