WEBVTT 1 00:00:09.153 --> 00:00:14.014 So far, we've somewhat simplified the discussion of the types of reinforcement, 2 00:00:14.014 --> 00:00:16.815 by talking about rewards alone. 3 00:00:16.815 --> 00:00:19.515 But, there are other types of reinforcement available to you including 4 00:00:19.515 --> 00:00:20.565 punishment for example. 5 00:00:21.645 --> 00:00:24.475 And, so I would like for us to talk about these types of reinforcement and 6 00:00:24.475 --> 00:00:25.835 their relative effectiveness. 7 00:00:26.955 --> 00:00:29.125 Now, the work on the types of reinforcement goes back 8 00:00:29.125 --> 00:00:33.080 to the foundational research by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. 9 00:00:33.080 --> 00:00:37.060 Won a Nobel prize for his work and an American physiologist B.F. Skinner. 10 00:00:38.290 --> 00:00:41.360 There are many types of reinforcement available out there, but 11 00:00:41.360 --> 00:00:44.110 I would like to briefly introduce the three key forms. 12 00:00:45.890 --> 00:00:50.110 The first one is positive reinforcement, which is when 13 00:00:50.110 --> 00:00:55.570 I present you with attractive consequences when you emit desired behaviors. 14 00:00:55.570 --> 00:00:59.190 So, for example, you hit your sales numbers, you attain your objectives, 15 00:00:59.190 --> 00:01:02.900 I give you bonuses, promotions, extra days of vacation. 16 00:01:04.230 --> 00:01:06.310 Now, negative reinforcement is a little trickier 17 00:01:07.350 --> 00:01:12.330 because this is where I remove an aversive condition in response to desired behavior. 18 00:01:13.800 --> 00:01:16.800 For example your boss keeps nagging you to use 19 00:01:16.800 --> 00:01:19.630 a new piece of software instead of a legacy one, and 20 00:01:19.630 --> 00:01:23.039 you finally comply just to avoid hearing his or her complaints again. 21 00:01:24.450 --> 00:01:29.180 Or, say you're not nocturnal and you don't like working night shifts. 22 00:01:29.180 --> 00:01:31.940 And so in response to your stellar performance 23 00:01:31.940 --> 00:01:34.600 your boss substitutes your night shifts with day shifts. 24 00:01:36.580 --> 00:01:39.690 And the third form of reinforcement is punishment. 25 00:01:39.690 --> 00:01:43.610 Which is when you are presented with aversive consequences for 26 00:01:43.610 --> 00:01:48.060 undesired behaviors, such as when you commit an ethical transgression, 27 00:01:48.060 --> 00:01:51.260 you can be fired, demoted, or your pay can be reduced. 28 00:01:51.260 --> 00:02:00.500 I'm going to show you a short clip from a famous film called Glengarry Glen Ross. 29 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:05.500 As you watch this clip analyze the types of reinforcements that are being used. 30 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:08.680 For those of you who are not familiar with the film, action takes places 31 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:13.050 in a sales office of a company that sells land for real estate development. 32 00:02:13.050 --> 00:02:14.720 The sales office is not doing well and 33 00:02:14.720 --> 00:02:18.590 the headquarters are sending a representative to motivate the team. 34 00:02:18.590 --> 00:02:19.090 Take a look. 35 00:02:22.190 --> 00:02:24.440 >> The rich get richer, that's the law of the land. 36 00:02:24.440 --> 00:02:29.863 Who belongs to the? 37 00:02:29.863 --> 00:02:33.286 >> It is 7:30. 38 00:02:33.286 --> 00:02:34.590 >> So who is that? 39 00:02:37.090 --> 00:02:39.000 >> And where's Mr. Rum. 40 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:41.660 >> Well I'm not a leash, so I don't know, do I? 41 00:02:41.660 --> 00:02:44.790 >> Let me have your attention for a moment. 42 00:02:46.725 --> 00:02:51.800 Are you're talking about White, you're talking about [INAUDIBLE] 43 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:55.210 about that sale you shot, some son of a [BEEP] who don't wanna buy land, somebody 44 00:02:55.210 --> 00:02:58.010 don't want what you're selling, some broad you're trying to screw, so forth. 45 00:02:58.010 --> 00:03:00.150 Let's talk about something important. 46 00:03:00.150 --> 00:03:01.120 Are they all here? 47 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:02.350 >> All but one. 48 00:03:02.350 --> 00:03:02.990 >> I'm going anyway. 49 00:03:02.990 --> 00:03:04.640 Let's talk about something important. 50 00:03:06.890 --> 00:03:09.000 Put that coffee down. 51 00:03:14.850 --> 00:03:18.200 Coffee's for closers only. 52 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:20.440 You think I'm fucking with you. 53 00:03:25.157 --> 00:03:27.980 I am not fucking up with you. 54 00:03:27.980 --> 00:03:29.900 I'm here from downtown. 55 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:31.070 I'm here from Mitch and Murray. 56 00:03:32.160 --> 00:03:33.770 And I'm here on a mission of mercy. 57 00:03:39.250 --> 00:03:40.170 Your name's Levine? 58 00:03:42.790 --> 00:03:46.520 You call yourself a salesman, you son of a [INAUDIBLE]? 59 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:47.820 >> I don't gotta listen to this [BEEP]. 60 00:03:47.820 --> 00:03:49.330 >> You certainly don't, pal. 61 00:03:49.330 --> 00:03:51.010 Cuz the good news is, you're fired. 62 00:03:52.920 --> 00:03:55.790 The bad news is, you've got, all you've got, 63 00:03:55.790 --> 00:03:59.230 just one week to regain your jobs starting with tonight. 64 00:03:59.230 --> 00:04:00.979 Starting with tonight's sit. 65 00:04:04.137 --> 00:04:06.549 Oh, have I got your attention now? 66 00:04:10.218 --> 00:04:10.718 Good. 67 00:04:12.970 --> 00:04:15.990 Cuz we're adding a little something to this month's sales contest. 68 00:04:15.990 --> 00:04:19.070 As you all know, first prize is a Cadillac El Dorado. 69 00:04:19.070 --> 00:04:20.500 Anybody want to see second prize? 70 00:04:22.440 --> 00:04:24.150 Second prize, a set of steak knives. 71 00:04:28.050 --> 00:04:29.296 Third prize is you're fired. 72 00:04:33.475 --> 00:04:34.160 Do you get the picture? 73 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:36.590 Are you laughing now? 74 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:40.090 You've got leads. 75 00:04:40.090 --> 00:04:41.700 Mention Murray paid good money. 76 00:04:41.700 --> 00:04:44.150 Get their names to sell them. 77 00:04:44.150 --> 00:04:45.980 You can't close the leads you're given. 78 00:04:45.980 --> 00:04:47.700 You can't close shit. 79 00:04:47.700 --> 00:04:48.490 You are a shit. 80 00:04:48.490 --> 00:04:52.517 Hit the bricks, pal, and beat it because you are going out. 81 00:04:52.517 --> 00:04:54.228 >> The leads are weak. 82 00:04:54.228 --> 00:04:55.700 >> The leads are weak. 83 00:04:55.700 --> 00:04:57.830 Fucking leads are weak. 84 00:04:57.830 --> 00:04:58.770 You're weak. 85 00:04:58.770 --> 00:05:00.920 I've been in this business 15 years. 86 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:01.740 >> What's your name? 87 00:05:01.740 --> 00:05:03.824 >> Fuck you, that's my name! 88 00:05:03.824 --> 00:05:05.630 >> [LAUGH] >> You know why, mister? 89 00:05:05.630 --> 00:05:08.190 Cuz you drove a Hyundai to get here tonight. 90 00:05:08.190 --> 00:05:10.730 I drove an $80,000 BMW. 91 00:05:10.730 --> 00:05:12.240 That's my name. 92 00:05:18.260 --> 00:05:20.170 And your name is, You're Wanting. 93 00:05:20.170 --> 00:05:24.574 And you can't play in the man's game, you can't close them, then go home and 94 00:05:24.574 --> 00:05:26.320 tell your wife your troubles. 95 00:05:28.050 --> 00:05:31.010 Because only one thing counts in this life. 96 00:05:31.010 --> 00:05:34.520 Get them to sign on the line which is dotted. 97 00:05:34.520 --> 00:05:36.523 You hear me you [INAUDIBLE]? 98 00:05:45.023 --> 00:05:46.570 A, B, C. 99 00:05:46.570 --> 00:05:50.090 A always, B be, C closing. 100 00:05:50.090 --> 00:05:52.390 Always be closing. 101 00:05:52.390 --> 00:05:54.940 Always be closing! 102 00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:01.400 AIDA, Attention, interest, decision, action. 103 00:06:01.400 --> 00:06:04.050 Attention, do I have your attention? 104 00:06:04.050 --> 00:06:05.700 Interest, are you interested? 105 00:06:05.700 --> 00:06:08.110 I know you are cuz it's fuck or walk. 106 00:06:08.110 --> 00:06:10.700 You close or you hit the bricks. 107 00:06:10.700 --> 00:06:14.470 Decision, have you made your decision for Christ? 108 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:17.868 In action. 109 00:06:17.868 --> 00:06:20.130 >> AIDA, get out there. 110 00:06:20.130 --> 00:06:21.570 You got the prospects coming in. 111 00:06:21.570 --> 00:06:23.660 You think they came in to get out of the rain? 112 00:06:23.660 --> 00:06:25.950 A guy don't walk on the lot lest he wants to buy. 113 00:06:25.950 --> 00:06:30.311 They're sitting out there waiting to give you their money, are you gonna take it? 114 00:06:33.066 --> 00:06:34.877 Are you man enough to take it? 115 00:06:42.307 --> 00:06:43.690 >> Crap. 116 00:06:43.690 --> 00:06:44.720 >> What's the problem pal? 117 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:45.850 >> You, Morris. 118 00:06:45.850 --> 00:06:48.010 You're such a hero, you're so rich. 119 00:06:48.010 --> 00:06:50.486 How come you're coming down here waste your time with such a bunch of bums. 120 00:06:53.876 --> 00:06:54.718 >> You see this watch? 121 00:06:59.693 --> 00:07:00.330 You see this watch? 122 00:07:01.410 --> 00:07:02.890 >> Yeah. 123 00:07:02.890 --> 00:07:06.382 >> That watch costs more than your car. 124 00:07:06.382 --> 00:07:08.290 I made $970,000 last year. 125 00:07:08.290 --> 00:07:10.466 How much you made? 126 00:07:10.466 --> 00:07:16.390 You see pal, that's who I am, and you're nothing. 127 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:21.871 Nice guy, I don't give it a [INAUDIBLE]. 128 00:07:21.871 --> 00:07:26.220 Good father, fuck you, go home and play with your kids. 129 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:28.519 You wanna work here, close. 130 00:07:30.050 --> 00:07:31.250 You think this is abuse? 131 00:07:33.230 --> 00:07:35.010 You think this is abuse? 132 00:07:35.010 --> 00:07:38.340 You can't take this, how can you take the abuse you get on a sit? 133 00:07:38.340 --> 00:07:42.420 You don't like it, leave. 134 00:07:45.957 --> 00:07:52.090 I can go out there tonight, the materials you got, make myself $15,000. 135 00:07:52.090 --> 00:07:53.780 Tonight, in two hours, can you? 136 00:07:56.660 --> 00:07:57.160 Can you? 137 00:08:00.770 --> 00:08:02.375 Go and do likewise. 138 00:08:02.375 --> 00:08:05.990 AIDA, get mad you son of a, get mad! 139 00:08:05.990 --> 00:08:08.230 Do you know what it takes to sell real estate? 140 00:08:08.230 --> 00:08:14.267 It takes brass balls to sell real estate. 141 00:08:19.887 --> 00:08:21.080 Go and do likewise, gents. 142 00:08:21.080 --> 00:08:23.020 The money's out there. 143 00:08:23.020 --> 00:08:24.070 You pick it up, it's yours. 144 00:08:24.070 --> 00:08:26.150 You don't, I got no sympathy for you. 145 00:08:26.150 --> 00:08:28.720 You wanna go out on those sits tonight and close. 146 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:30.340 Close, it's yours. 147 00:08:30.340 --> 00:08:32.990 Not? You're gonna be shining my shoes. 148 00:08:32.990 --> 00:08:34.119 And you know what you'll be saying. 149 00:08:35.210 --> 00:08:37.820 Bunch of losers sitting around in a bar. 150 00:08:37.820 --> 00:08:40.580 Oh yeah, I used to be a salesman. 151 00:08:40.580 --> 00:08:41.343 It's a tough racket. 152 00:08:51.283 --> 00:08:52.078 These are the new leads. 153 00:08:54.725 --> 00:08:55.890 These are the Glengarry leads. 154 00:08:57.110 --> 00:09:00.130 And to you, they're gold and you don't get them. 155 00:09:01.470 --> 00:09:01.970 Why? 156 00:09:05.006 --> 00:09:07.932 Because to give them to you is just throwing them away. 157 00:09:12.299 --> 00:09:13.373 They're for closers. 158 00:09:20.989 --> 00:09:23.920 I'd wish you good luck but you wouldn't know what to do with it if you got it. 159 00:09:29.493 --> 00:09:32.450 And to answer you question, pal, why am I here? 160 00:09:34.580 --> 00:09:36.600 I came here because Mitch and Murray asked me to. 161 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:41.223 They asked me for a favor, I said the real favor, follow my advice and 162 00:09:41.223 --> 00:09:44.270 fire [INAUDIBLE], because a loser is a loser. 163 00:09:53.649 --> 00:09:56.854 >> There are different types of reinforcement being used here, but 164 00:09:56.854 --> 00:09:58.320 let's look at some of those. 165 00:09:59.640 --> 00:10:02.528 You win a car if you're the top sales person in the office, 166 00:10:02.528 --> 00:10:06.650 that's clearly an example of positive reinforcement. 167 00:10:06.650 --> 00:10:11.870 Now the third prize, which is you're fired when you finished third in the rankings, 168 00:10:11.870 --> 00:10:13.350 that's a clear example of punishment. 169 00:10:14.380 --> 00:10:18.470 The second prize is a set of steak knives. 170 00:10:18.470 --> 00:10:22.410 And at first glance it might seem as positive reinforcement, but there's so 171 00:10:22.410 --> 00:10:25.740 much inequity associated with winning steak knives 172 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:28.500 when the top sales person wins a car. 173 00:10:28.500 --> 00:10:31.550 So I think at least some people can interpret it as a mix of reward and 174 00:10:31.550 --> 00:10:32.650 punishment. 175 00:10:32.650 --> 00:10:36.820 I'm sure many of you have heard of the computer game, Angry Birds. 176 00:10:36.820 --> 00:10:40.310 It's one of the most popular computer games ever produced. 177 00:10:40.310 --> 00:10:43.250 Since it first hit the market in 2009, 178 00:10:43.250 --> 00:10:46.050 it's been downloaded more than 3 billion times. 179 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:48.430 One of the reasons this game is so 180 00:10:48.430 --> 00:10:53.850 successful, is because it's based almost exclusively on positive reinforcement. 181 00:10:53.850 --> 00:10:57.240 This is from the former CEO of Rovio, the developer of the game. 182 00:10:57.240 --> 00:11:00.480 Our game doesn't really punish players, so whenever you do something well 183 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:03.710 in this game, you get cheers and other types of positive reinforcement. 184 00:11:03.710 --> 00:11:08.540 And this is very much consistent with research that suggests that the best way, 185 00:11:08.540 --> 00:11:14.365 the most effective way to attain continuously high levels of motivation and 186 00:11:14.365 --> 00:11:17.505 performance, is to use positive reinforcement. 187 00:11:19.975 --> 00:11:24.705 In contrast, some companies are built around the principle of punishment. 188 00:11:24.705 --> 00:11:29.950 I'm gonna use the example of orange theory fitness, which is a fitness studio that 189 00:11:29.950 --> 00:11:34.555 emphasizes the importance of staying in the orange cardio zone for your work out, 190 00:11:34.555 --> 00:11:39.340 where you're most likely to burn calories and develop your cardiovascular system. 191 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:43.020 So that orange zone is a particular cardio interval, your heart rate, 192 00:11:43.020 --> 00:11:44.710 that you need to maintain throughout the workout. 193 00:11:46.770 --> 00:11:50.698 Every person who is working out at this studio is wearing a heart monitor, and 194 00:11:50.698 --> 00:11:53.781 their heart rate is projected on the screen in front of them, 195 00:11:53.781 --> 00:11:56.820 where you can see their heart rate, alongside their name. 196 00:11:58.590 --> 00:12:03.040 And the moment you drop out of this orange zone, it becomes immediately obvious not 197 00:12:03.040 --> 00:12:06.510 just to you, but to all others, working out alongside you. 198 00:12:06.510 --> 00:12:07.660 And so 199 00:12:07.660 --> 00:12:12.000 the idea here is to stimulate people in part through a form of punishment. 200 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:13.610 Mild public humiliation, 201 00:12:13.610 --> 00:12:16.240 where people recognise that you're not working out as hard as you could. 202 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:21.540 A manager of a private equity firm, once told me a story where the private equity 203 00:12:21.540 --> 00:12:27.240 firm was not doing well, its workforce was demotivated, disengaged, and one 204 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:32.160 of the particular manifestations of the disengagement was that their analyst was 205 00:12:32.160 --> 00:12:36.450 spending a lot of time on non-work related websites, such as Facebook or Yahoo. 206 00:12:37.530 --> 00:12:44.050 At first the company tried to firewall these websites, with mixed success. 207 00:12:44.050 --> 00:12:47.300 They couldn't firewall all of them, and analysts were really technically savvy, 208 00:12:47.300 --> 00:12:48.500 so they coud crack the firewall. 209 00:12:49.610 --> 00:12:53.100 So instead what the company did is they installed a large monitor in a hallway 210 00:12:53.100 --> 00:12:57.380 that was most frequented by senior partners of the firm, and 211 00:12:57.380 --> 00:13:01.460 onto that monitor, they would project live feeds from the desktops 212 00:13:01.460 --> 00:13:06.250 of the associates and analysts, randomly with their name underneath. 213 00:13:06.250 --> 00:13:08.700 So at any point in time, the entire company, 214 00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:12.260 including senior partners could see what you're working on on your desktop. 215 00:13:14.070 --> 00:13:17.050 And if you get caught for using non work related web sites, 216 00:13:17.050 --> 00:13:19.840 you'll be reprimanded and fired for repeat offenses. 217 00:13:20.920 --> 00:13:24.760 When you use punishment, be very discretional and careful. 218 00:13:26.660 --> 00:13:30.379 It's the most controversial and the least effective form of reinforcement. 219 00:13:31.420 --> 00:13:36.260 Continuous use of punishment can lead to low moral, turnover, and even sabotage. 220 00:13:36.260 --> 00:13:39.630 Most importantly, what we find is that behavioral changes 221 00:13:39.630 --> 00:13:42.438 as a result of punishment are not always sustainable. 222 00:13:42.438 --> 00:13:47.389 I'll give you two examples of how companies use punishment somewhat 223 00:13:47.389 --> 00:13:48.505 effectively. 224 00:13:50.055 --> 00:13:53.185 One is companies use punishment to irradicate 225 00:13:53.185 --> 00:13:57.545 discrete clearly specified behaviors that are undesirable. 226 00:13:57.545 --> 00:14:01.515 So for example, with the threat of punishment I can prevent you from browsing 227 00:14:01.515 --> 00:14:03.925 Facebook during work hours. 228 00:14:03.925 --> 00:14:07.145 Or I can prevent you from showing up at a construction site 229 00:14:07.145 --> 00:14:08.145 while not wearing a hard hat. 230 00:14:09.230 --> 00:14:11.820 Note that none of these reinforcements would actually 231 00:14:11.820 --> 00:14:12.730 make me want to work harder. 232 00:14:13.920 --> 00:14:18.760 And the second ways companies use punishment is to reinforce the key 233 00:14:18.760 --> 00:14:24.390 cultural principles in the company in terms of eliminating undesired behaviors. 234 00:14:25.400 --> 00:14:29.690 So the classic example is when an employee gets fired for an ethical transgression. 235 00:14:31.010 --> 00:14:33.920 Nobody's trying to change that employees behavior any more. 236 00:14:33.920 --> 00:14:37.640 That employee becomes a proverbial sacrificial lamb, but the idea is to send 237 00:14:37.640 --> 00:14:41.630 a very strong reinforce, a very strong message to the rest of the organization, 238 00:14:41.630 --> 00:14:44.080 that such behavior is not gonna be tolerated in the future. 239 00:14:45.570 --> 00:14:51.000 If you decide to apply punishment, apply it soon after the undesired behaviors and 240 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:52.870 clearly communicate the rational behind it. 241 00:14:54.430 --> 00:14:57.110 But in any case, think positive reinforcement first.