Positive Reinforcement

The Good Game Theory

Positive reinforcement is essential to the human condition. It is core to B.F. Skinner’s operant conditioning of human development. Basically, it consists of rewarding behaviors you want repeated. He observed this in mice pushing levers over & over for food or sugar. People behave not much different. This experiment was repeated with cocaine. The results were fatal.

Games offer a constant source of positive reinforcement with less severe addictive side effects. Every score is like a sugar bump that keeps you playing. Once victory is achieved, supreme satisfaction sets in.

What are some good behaviors we want repeated that games can reinforce?

• Paying attention: Attention is crucial to many games. We won’t score & consequently won’t win as often if we are not paying attention to the situational circumstances of the game.

• Completing tasks: The Win only comes at the end. Endurance & perseverance are necessary to achieve the desired result. The desire to win motivates a player to push through the mental struggle & anguish to reach the conclusion.

• Reassessment, Adjustment, & Accepting Correction: Losing teaches better than pain. If all that effort isn’t rewarded/reinforced by the desired win, a noble player will look back to see what play could have been done better. Elite players will be able to receive & adopt criticism from coaches, onlookers, or even the winning opponent. Improvement, adaptation, & growth are the hallmarks of life. A loss can switch from positive reinforcement to proper punishment to correct a behavior.

• Creativity: In more complex games, common strategies can be easily countered. Creative approaches must be developed to outwit opponents to earn the Win.

“It has also been believed by some educators that positive reinforcement reduces a student’s ability to develop self-direction and crushes the student’s internal motivation.” Positive Psychology

Games can circumvent this dilemma when the player’s motivation to play is self-driven. Each point, which could count as ‘token reinforcement,’ validates the behavior the player naturally wanted to do.

Progress in skills can also replace the need for praise. Behavior Expert Alfie Kohn has argued that using praise as reinforcement may result in tentative children, as they rely on it for assurance. Winning speaks for itself, whether or not you get that pat on the back. Winning isn’t always guaranteed with a well played game, so win dependent reinforcement carries its own flaws. More experience & exposure to any game increases the ability to play it. The growth factor of progress is what best motivates someone to keep playing, whether or not a win validates it.