Positive and Negative Reinforcement

I tried distinguishing the difference between negative and positive reinforcement from tiny bits of information spread out before me. But unlike usual, I've had a difficult time thinking today, for some strange reason. When I pulled Sir Coolman from his box, he could sense this.

"Trouble using your brain again, eh?" I nodded my head. "Very well, then dear. Here's something to help you understand the difference between positive and negative reinforcement."

Don't ask me how he did it, but his reflective face was replaced with this video.



I thought about the mistake of the teacher near the end of the video in accidentally reward the student for acting out in class. "Something you think could happen to you, yes?" Sir Coolman asked.

"I sure do. But I think I've got a bit more 'withitness' than the teacher in the video. I generally know about all the crushes in the grade level I work in."

"It's good that the students feel comfortable enough with you to make this information clear. I don't think you would continue the same strategy of behavior management if it were obvious to you that it was having the opposite effect that you'd hoped it would."

I turned towards Sir Coolman in astonishment. "Was that...was that a compliment?"

I watched as his face faded from the glass. "Well, well...I suppose it is," he smiled before fading away completely.