...reflecting on what shapes behavior. This random thought came to mind because I am actually taking a three-day weekend to play. Halleluja! And, I am going to Laughlin, NV to join the rest of the pigeons in those wonderful, lighted "Skinner Boxes", i.e., casinos. I'm not much of a gambler. Money has been too tight lately to throw it up in the air on the chance I might get a return. However, off to the Laugh(lin) I go.
So, I started thinking about pigeons (Coo! Coo!). They keep pecking at the light in the box until they get a reward. But, the reward does not show up every time. In behavioral terms, it is called intermittent reinforcement. One of the most powerful addictive forces on earth. It is hard to break the pattern because you never know when that pellet of yummy pigeon food is going to come flying down the chute and land at your feet. So, where is the motivation to change the behavior?
I remember seeing and hearing that great definition: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a new result" (Or something like that.)
As it turns out, doing the same thing repeatedly is not such a bad thing if it actually yields results. The trick is to figure out which behavior gets the most pellets! Doing so, however, requires getting "outside the box." Do ya' think they were referring to Skinner when that saying became popular?
I like what Ralph Odierna says in his blog about Mind Shift which, by the way, has little to do with pigeons, pellets or insanity, but has a lot to do with behavior. My take on it is that you change your behavior as a result of changing your expectations from "trying to get" something to "knowing that you've already got it." Once you grok that message, the laws of attraction take over and the power of your own expections shall bring forth all that is good.
So, I'm going to stir up some laws of attraction in Laughlin and watch those jackpots come rollin' in! Coo!
Best to all.
Betsy
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