Clicker Training

[sathor]

Modified slightly...

What Is Clicker Training?

Clicker training is a method of human training that uses a sound—a click—to tell a human when he or she does something right. The clicker is a tiny plastic box held in the palm of your hand, with a metal tongue that you push quickly to make the sound. Most people who’ve heard of the clicker know that it’s a popular tool for human training, but clickers can be used to train all kinds of animals, wild and domestic—from lions to elephants to household cats, birds and rats!

How Does the Clicker Work?

The clicker creates an efficient language between a trainer and a human trainee. First, a trainer teaches a human that every time he or she hears the clicking sound, he or she gets a treat. Once the human understands that clicks are always followed by treats, the click becomes as powerful a reward to the human as a pat on the head is to a dog. When this happens, the trainer can use the click to mark (identify for the human) the instant the human performs the right behavior. For example, if a trainer wants to teach a human to be more compassionate, she’ll click the instant the trainee shows any sign of compassion. With repetition, the human learns that compassion earns rewards.

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/clicker-training-your-pet

Comments

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

LOL, except that human (or even chimpanzee) motivation is more complex than that of dogs. Once the primate understands that someone else holds the treats, the agenda becomes 'get those treats' by any means necessary - which is why foolish people who 'adopt' infant chimpanzees and raise them as their very own babies frequently end up being seriously injured by their grown-up chimp children.

The motivator for changing human behavior is not treats, but social recognition and approval. If we want humans to learn any form of behavior, what we have to do is pay a lot of attention to those who are already behaving in those ways, and as little attention as possible to those who are not. Talk about the heroes, not the criminals. Praise the good statesmen and women instead of bitching about the corrupt politicians. Emulate the dignified and sensible rather than the shocking and absurd. Take an optimistic pro-social stance, and refuse to indulge cynical misanthropy.

With repetition, the human learns that compassion earns the kind of rewards that cannot be gained by knocking down the person who bestows them.

[sathor.livejournal.com]

That seems to be true, although if I might self-analyze for a moment, it seems that for much of my life I've been on the receiving end of negative conditioning - not much attention has been paid, and what has been paid has been probably more negative than positive. This doesn't describe my parents at all, but...well, you know enough of the story.

Makes me wonder if I'm one of the villains, eh?

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Well, no, that doesn't seem to follow, because you aren't actually doing anything villainous, are you?

Occam's Razor suggests that one reason you've been on the receiving end of negative feedback is because you pay a lot of attention to it. It's a self-perpetuating loop: everybody remembers bad more than good, but highly sensitive people do it a lot more. It's probable that you've been on the receiving end of a more-or-less average amount of both positive and negative feedback, but due to this effect, have developed a pattern of being hyper-vigilant for the negative while overlooking or discounting the positive.

The self-perpetuating factor comes because other people really do treat us the way we teach them to treat us. If you look and act like you expect to be treated poorly, people who want to treat someone poorly will be drawn to you. The answer is to stop expecting that. Expect to be treated well; notice and appreciate it when you are, and work on overlooking and discounting it when people are being jerks. The more you learn to savor the positive, the more of it you'll get.

Somewhat off-topic, here's an article I think you'll like: When Schools Overlook Introverts.

Got to run; will try to reply to your previous comments before the weekend - *hugs hugs* - hope your Autumn is beginning well! Did you see the eclipse? It was stunning here! ^^