Wednesday, November 4, 2020

To change behaviour, change the environment

 I have heard a story where a guy had a puppy who used to chew shoes. He has left no shoes without chewing. The guy was very much perturbed. He decided to train the puppy not to chew on shoes.


Every time his puppy goes over shoes and returns without chewing them, the puppy would get a treat.

The things went well for sometime.


As the time passes, puppy become smart, he will not chew on shoes when he knows his master got a treat in his hand—and puppy go back to usual business as usual, when he knows his master is not holding a treat in hands.


Result: Your puppy ends up training you, rather you training him.


There is an easier remedy, but you prefer to take awkward route to approach a problem.

Instead of trying to teach your puppy not to chew on shoes, you can simply move your shoes out of reach of puppy.


In fact, what looks like a behavior problem is actually an environment problem.


The same concept applies to human behavior too.


The principle is same, whether the behavior is of your puppy or your own.


To change the behavior, change the environment.

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