Skinner Would Be Proud

One of the guys on Top Chef commented that he had a culinary boner when they announced an elimination challenge. This is similiar to how I felt (psychology style) when I came across this website: Stickk.

Negative reinforcement is when a behavior is increased in order to avoid or diminish an aversive consequence. In the laboratory, rats would press levers to avoid (or sometimes turn off) shock in the floor. Parents do all sorts of behaviors in order to get their kids to stop whining or crying. When teaching about operant conditioning and negative reinforcement, I would often use the example of writing a check to some hated organization (e.g. Bush's Ranch Fund), posting it on your refrigerator, and having someone mail it off if you don't do whatever it is you said you were going to do. This is a very efficient way to increase behaviors such as eating healthy, exercising, finishing (or at least working on) your dissertation, etc. Needless to say, I've never actually done it... until now!