Operant Conditioning: Response Size & Big Picture Focus

Operant conditioning (or behavior shaping) lets you modify how people act through rewards and punishments. But in ‘mixed case’ scenarios things get tricky…

I first wrote about operant conditioning a dozen years ago in my article on using for behavior shaping inside romantic relationships. If you haven’t read that one, or it’s been a while, read it first, because this article builds upon it.

The quick summary is that through rewards and punishment, you can direct another person’s behavior. Reward her, and you’ll get more of that behavior. Punish her, and you’ll get less of it.

Today’s article focuses on some nuance in operant conditioning. Namely: how the size of your response affects reinforcement/discouragement… plus the importance of focusing on the big picture too rather than exclusively the small one.