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The Formula For Changing Behavior
The formula for changing behavior was developed through the research of B. F. Skinner and company in the nineteen thirties, and has been further developed and endlessly tested by generations of behavioral researchers since that time.
The formula has three parts. If you want to come out of the process with a well trained dog, you will need to get the hang of putting all three components into play.
- Give your dog something else to do.
(something rewarding that is incompatible with the problem behavior) - Remove all the pay-offs.
(for the problem behavior) - Make sure that it becomes an unpleasant experience.
(every time your dog engages in the problem behavior)
In step one of applying the formula, your goal should be to ensure that your dog has some alternative response that he can engage in. Preferably, it will be some rewarding activity he can engage in that will be incompatible with the problem behavior that you are working to change. So if you are trying to make your dog stop barking, then, you need to see to it that he is rewarded when he is quiet. And if your goal is to keep your dog from running away, then, you need to make it rewarding for him to stay home.
In step two, you need to make sure that emitting the problem behavior is no longer a rewarding experience. Your goal in the second stage, then, should be to ensure that your dog no longer receives any sort of payoffs for engaging in the problem behavior that you are trying to eliminate. When you phrase it in psychological terms, it comes out like this: Make sure that all reinforcement for the target behavior is eliminated. For example, if your dog chases your cat because he thinks it's fun, then, the next time he does it, make sure that he is so distracted by your unpleasant reaction that he is unable to enjoy the experience.
In the third step, your goal should be to make sure that the act of engaging in the problem behavior always becomes an unpleasant experience for your dog every time he does it.
For more information about the formula for changing behavior