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Sharing because of the first line of the response XD
Dear Care and Feeding,
I occasionally give my two grandsons money, maybe a $20 bill, but not every time I see them. Lately, I have been thinking about whether I may be practicing intermittent reinforcement with them, which I don’t see as a good thing. They may be wondering every time they see me if I am going to give them money, and be disappointed when I don’t. Do you think I should stop giving them money, give them some each time, or what?
—Doting Grandmother
Dear DG,
You may be worried you have accidentally created that experiment where the rats push the lever and get cocaine. For the uninitiated: One group of rats get cocaine whenever they push the lever, and therefore quit trying almost immediately after the cocaine stops coming. One group gets cocaine every second or third time, so it takes them longer to give up when they shut off the cocaine. The unfortunate rats, in the final group, get cocaine randomly and will never, ever stop hitting that pedal in case the cocaine is coming back. Don’t do cocaine, everyone.
You are not creating cocaine rats. You are just sometimes giving your grandchildren 20 bucks. I think that’s a fun surprise! Now, if you notice them looking sad or disappointed when they don’t get money, I would switch to a “holidays only” system and be really open-minded about what constitutes a holiday: “Arbor Day!” (palms them a 20 each) “Linus Pauling Day!” “National Library Workers’ Day!” But, honestly, if they seem jazzed and appreciative of the money and don’t pout when you don’t give them money, just stay the course.
I occasionally give my two grandsons money, maybe a $20 bill, but not every time I see them. Lately, I have been thinking about whether I may be practicing intermittent reinforcement with them, which I don’t see as a good thing. They may be wondering every time they see me if I am going to give them money, and be disappointed when I don’t. Do you think I should stop giving them money, give them some each time, or what?
—Doting Grandmother
Dear DG,
You may be worried you have accidentally created that experiment where the rats push the lever and get cocaine. For the uninitiated: One group of rats get cocaine whenever they push the lever, and therefore quit trying almost immediately after the cocaine stops coming. One group gets cocaine every second or third time, so it takes them longer to give up when they shut off the cocaine. The unfortunate rats, in the final group, get cocaine randomly and will never, ever stop hitting that pedal in case the cocaine is coming back. Don’t do cocaine, everyone.
You are not creating cocaine rats. You are just sometimes giving your grandchildren 20 bucks. I think that’s a fun surprise! Now, if you notice them looking sad or disappointed when they don’t get money, I would switch to a “holidays only” system and be really open-minded about what constitutes a holiday: “Arbor Day!” (palms them a 20 each) “Linus Pauling Day!” “National Library Workers’ Day!” But, honestly, if they seem jazzed and appreciative of the money and don’t pout when you don’t give them money, just stay the course.
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