Step 2: Rewarding

Since time immemorial, rewarding consequences have been used to modify and strengthen certain behaviors. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese all used reinforcement and punishment. Principles of rewards are deeply woven into the fabric of social institutions and human relationships: child-rearing, education, government, and business. And virtually every adult has practiced rewarding pets, children, spouses, roommates, students, parents, and others.

However, the moment I begin speaking about using rewards to change behavior, most people give me a quizzical look. “Well, sure, I use them on others, but not on myself.” The time has come to learn how to reward yourself. We will use rewarding to strengthen your goal behavior in a systematic and intentional way.

A reward - or reinforcement, as we psychologists call it - consists of any consequence that increases the frequency or strength of a target behavior. Note that it must be contingent on the behavior; if it’s not, then it rapidly devolves into a superstition. The classic superstitions of walking on cracks, opening an umbrella indoors, and seeing a black cat cross your path all probably originated when someone mistakenly noticed an accidental association between one of those behaviors and an unfortunate result, including breaking a mother’s back.

A frequent criticism of contingent rewards is that they undermine behavior change or serve as “bribes” for behavior that people should engage in any way. This criticism most often arises in the context of changing alcohol or drug use, where many people believe alcohol or drug use will resume once rewards are discontinued. However, our research on substance use treatment shows that, when individuals receive contingent rewards, they are more likely to achieve abstinence up to one year following the discontinuation of rewards than when individuals do not receive contingent rewards.

Do you reward yourself as often you reward others?