The idea behind reinforcement learning is you don’t necessarily know the actions you might take, so you explore the sequence of actions you should take by taking one that you think is a good idea and then observing how the world reacts. Like in a board game where you can react to how your opponent plays. – Jeff Dean
When you are pursuing important goals, sometimes, the work you do takes a long time to show results. If you start exercising, you won’t see gains for weeks or months and, often, the process is accompanied by pain or stress. If you start a new learning journey, it might take you more than a year without seeing immediate payoff in terms of making more money or having new skills.
People are usually oriented toward instant gratification. The faster we get feedback, the better we feel. But with many things, it’s just not possible to see results right away. What can we do to motivate ourselves with long-term goals? Provide positive reinforcement.
What is positive reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement is a concept that comes from behavioral psychology. It means that when we get positive consequences for doing something. If we get praise for good grades, for example, we might be more motivated to get good grades in the future. If we get told off, then that’s a punishment, the opposite of positive reinforcement, and it’s likely to leave us less motivated to do the thing again.
Positive reinforcement can serve to keep our motivation up in the face of long treks that don’t have any natural positive consequences. Exercise is a good example because, in the short-term, you might feel muscle aches or stress if you’re just getting started. This can bring your motivation down.
Is positive reinforcement always a good idea?
It’s worth saying that using this technique is not always good. It’s usually a good strategy for situations where there are no natural rewards for the process or where these take a long time to appear. For example, it could be a good idea to reward a child for enduring a trip to the dentist, as this is not a routine situation, it’s not naturally pleasant, and the rewards are likely to be too abstract for the kid (having healthier teeth or having better health in the future).
When it comes to things that are common and should be enjoyed for their own sake, it’s not a good idea to reward behaviors like doing homework or reading; as homework is something that kids have to do on the regular and find value in it, while reading is an activity that can bring its own rewards.
When will positive reinforcement be the best solution?
When we get rewards for doing something, the activity itself loses value. If I have to get a prize for reading, then reading doesn’t feel worth it. Multiple studies show that giving rewards makes people less willing to do the activity with no reward; and that can be a problem for regular, recurring situations.
However, reinforcement can be great when applied to situations that don’t feel naturally rewarding and when we’d have to wait for a long time to see a positive outcome otherwise. They can make unpleasant tasks a bit more pleasant and help us build a habit.
How to apply positive reinforcement?
You can find the rewards that work best for you. Some people respond well to rewards like special treats that you enjoy, while others do best with praise and recognition. Know what motivates you.
Make a plan to provide your reward right after you do something. Get it as close to the task as you can; it is what seems to work best for most people. You can experiment and see what helps you and find a good balance between rewards.
What else should I keep in mind?
Try to vary your rewards. When you feel “meh” about one reward, find another one, and change them around so that they don’t get stale. The goal is to increase motivation, and that can take some work and some imagination.
Consider also that the reward should come after the task, not before. If you’re tempted by it before, try to find a kind of reward that doesn’t allow you to give into that temptation.
