Do Companies Teach Reward Based Dog Training to People?
Because I am a concert pianist, the delightful video above has arrived in my inbox dozens of times. No matter how many times I watch it, it always brings a smile to my face. It is part of the Volkswagen “Fun Theory,” based on the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better. I chuckled when I read those words and watched a few more of the winning videos in their contest, as I realized that is what positive reinforcement dog training is all about.
Why is it so effective?
In summary, instead of correcting dogs for the behavior you don’t want, you reward them for the behavior you do want. What naturally happens when you reward the behaviors you want? You get more behaviors you want, of the dog’s own free will, and consequently, it’s a lot more fun for both canine and their human counterpart.
But, how does that relate to Volkswagen and its Fun Theory? Well, it’s exactly the same thing but applied to people. Before the stairs were turned into a musical keyboard, a hidden camera revealed that almost everyone took the escalator. But, when the musical keyboard was installed, people were curious and it became so much more fun to take the stairs than the escalator. They were benefiting from the exercise without even realizing it because they were just having fun making music while climbing stairs. Most adults are aware that it’s better for their health to take the stairs instead of the elevator, but previously the reward for taking the stairs just wasn’t very enticing without a fun factor. With the musical addition, they are rewarded with music-making and fun!
The video above, which won first place in the Volkswagen Fun Theory contest, demonstrates my point even clearer. Kevin Richardson won 1st place with The Speed Camera Lottery video. He knows that the number of people speeding isn’t reduced by giving more speeding tickets. In dog training language that would be the equivalent of expecting a dog’s unwanted behaviors to decrease by punishing those behaviors. It may work in the short term, but rarely in the long haul, and often escalates into additional undesired behaviors.
Short vs. long-term results
Similarly, when people receive a speeding ticket, they are more apt to pay attention to their speedometers short term, but it’s not sustainable behavior. However, when they are rewarded for their good behavior by being entered in a lottery for keeping the speed limit, they are more likely to continue driving under the speed limit, of their own free choice. And they have fun in the process because they are being rewarded for their good driving behavior. Where do their lottery winnings come from? The people who were caught speeding! Brilliant!
Can you think of any areas in your life where you’ve been more apt to change behavior because you were rewarded for your desired behavior rather than corrected for your unwanted behavior?
