Premack’s principle can make containment more bearable for several reasons: the first is that we will discover an ideal psychological tool to improve our productivity and establish more desirable behaviors; the second, because we can apply it in countless areas of our lives and even in the lives of children at home.
Let’s face it: in the last few days, during this exceptional situation, we’ve seen people struggle to do a lot of tasks every day. On our social networks, there are countless live programs, videos and posts from friends, extremely active acquaintances. influencers who, when they do not do any physical activity, cook or make decorations, take a new course.
- It is clear that everyone is dealing with the situation of detention.
- Everyone takes their time as they see it best.
- But it is as permissible and beneficial to rest as redecorate the house five days a week.
Regardless of your personality or how you handle the current context, using the Premack principle can be as interesting as it is beneficial. Let’s see why.
Before delving into the reasons why The Premack principle can make containment more bearable, we must first clarify what this theory says and where it comes from, this approach comes from the operational or instrumental conditioning formulated by psychologist B. F Skinner.
Its formulation is based on a simple idea: people, as well as animals, establish behaviors or stop repeating them according to a psychological dimension that motivates or causes the extinction of this behavior.
An example: I stopped studying German because I found it boring or very difficult, on the other hand, I spend more and more time on some streaming content platforms because I love series.
Well, one of the things Premack’s principle seeks is to make these more motivating behaviors work as boosters for less interesting behaviors to encourage their realization. In other words, I could use my passion for series as a reward mechanism to study a few hours of German a day. .
This technique, although it seems elementary, is often used to modify behaviors and even to treat addictions or phobias, however, we have also noticed some ways in which the Premack principle can make containment more bearable for us.
A recommendation that is often repeated when it comes to containment is the need to establish routines. They should be organized a few times for the fulfillment of obligations and, in turn, others aimed at enjoying moments of leisure and rest.
One phenomenon that has arisen from containment is pinching during meals or not eating, we tend to abuse snacks and products that essentially reduce our anxiety but are not nutritious.
The Premack principle can make containment more bearable and can be very beneficial in the food field, but in what way?Let’s look at an example.
This theory can also be very useful in organizing children’s time. The Premack principle can make it easier for our children to lock up, as it will provide them with better performance in schoolwork. But in what way?
As you can see, this type of strategy is based exclusively on the introduction of positive boosters, after all, we have to consider that this is what we need most now, if after all, these boosters also help us organize the best time, be more productive and even eat better, it is worth a try.