“Okay, here’s the problem. This guy, I’ll call him ClueBoy, was
assuming that he’d get better service from the paid person than
from the enthusiast because money would be a reward. That puts us
in the realm of operant conditioning, a field about which most
people know just enough to make psychologists cringe:“Behavior + Reward = Increased Behavior
“Well, kind of. It is, like most things, a bit more complex than
that. Some of those complications involve the kinds of behavior
it’s possible to shape through operant conditioning. Others involve
the effects of reinforcement on behavior that isn’t being
reinforced. That’s where this guy’s “common sense” failed him.”
Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.
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