This link has been bookmarked by 8 people . It was first bookmarked on 05 Aug 2007, by banavram Avram.
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05 Aug 07
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We're animals - we have animal brains. All animal brains have the circuitry in place for producing operant conditioning. It's a fundamental psychological process, and just the sort that can create behaviours what operate automatically, or in spite of our consciously telling ourselves we should do otherwise. Like me checking my checking my email. Checking email is a behaviour that has variable interval reinforcement. Sometimes, but not everytime, the behaviour produces a reward. Everyone loves to get an email from a friend, or some good news, or even an amusing web link. Sometimes checking your email will get you one of these rewards.
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I have just proved to myself how automatic my email checking behaviour has become.
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isolated from conscious knowledge, and in part from deliberate control;
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By looking at each stage of the process by which a behaviour becomes conditioned, we can throw up ideas for addressing the problem of 'unconditioning' them.
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If a behaviour isn't rewarded then it will gradually disappear.
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Weaking the stimulus-action association
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Changing the consistency of the environmental trigger could work
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Shifting the cost-benefit ratio
A classical approach to changing habits is to shift the cost-benefit pay-off.
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If checking or reading email is made harder to do, mayhbe we can increase the cost of the action and hence make the overall reward of getting email less.
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Rewarding an alternative, incompatible behaviour
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Husband training', New York Times article about using behaviourist principles in your marriage
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