creating sustainable results in growth and performance
The Premack Principle states that a high probability behavior can serve as
a reinforcer for a low probability behavior. In more practical terms it
means that if you watch what people do when they have a choice, their
choice identifies a reinforcer for them in that situation. If you
consistently choose to watch TV rather than read a book, the opportunity
to watch TV can be used as a reinforcer for increased reading. If you
typically choose to do one activity in your job and neglect another, you
can use the one you like as a reinforcer for the one you'd rather not do.
The Premack Principle is an ideal way to do contingency management
because with it we are able to identify many opportunities for
self-reinforcement throughout the day. Remember that when we choose to do
one thing over another, we have identified a reinforcer in that situation.
For example, as I am typing, I notice that I would like a glass of water.
Premack would advise me to set a small goal, say, finishing this
paragraph, and then get the water. In that small way I will reinforce
working on this book. Repeating this strategy will make me more productive
and increase my satisfaction with my work habits. (Excuse me while I get
some water.)
The Premack Principle also provides us with the most effective
time-management system known. Make a list of the things you have to do.
Rank them from the thing you most like to do to the thing that you least
like to do and then start at the bottom. If you start at the bottom, a
curious thing happens. When you complete the last item on the list, the
next one is more desirable. The farther you go up the list, the more
reinforcing the tasks become.
If
you are like most people, you will start at the top, but look what happens
then. When you complete the first task, the next one is less desirable.
The farther you go, the more punishing the tasks become. Is it any wonder
that people who start at the bottom get two to three times more done than
do those who start at the top?
My
first deliberate application of the Premack Principle to my own behavior
occurred when I was writing my doctoral dissertation, a most traumatic
time in my life. I had some problems with subjects dropping out of the
study, and the original statistical tool I planned to use was not
appropriate. I spent weeks looking for alternative evaluative statistics,
and when I found them, I agonized over how to write them up. I spent days
in the library without writing one sentence.
My
chairman suggested using the Premack Principle. If I wanted to drink a cup
of coffee or get up and stretch, I would have to finish a sentence or a
paragraph. If I had to go to the bathroom, I would do the same thing. To
go to lunch, I had to finish the page I was working on. To go home I would
have to finish a section. By using this method, I estimate that I was 10
times more effective than I had been up to that point.
The Premack Principle also provides us with the most
effective task-management system known. Make a list of the things you
have to do. Rank them from the things you most like to do to the thing
that you least like to do and then START AT THE BOTTOM. If you start at
the bottom, a curious thing happens. When you complete the last item on
the list, the next one is more desirable. The farther you go up the list,
the more reinforcing the tasks become.
If you are like most people, you will start at the
top, but look what happens then. When you complete the first task, the
next one is less desirable. The farther you go, the more punishing the
tasks become. Is it any wonder that people who start at the bottom get two
or three times more done than do those who start at the top?
