Wednesday, February 14, 2007

'Premacking' the trellis

Painting the trellis continues to be a long drawn out affair, so Lisbeth is resorting to the Premack Principle to get the job done. Often referred to as 'Grandma's Law' this principle is really very simple. It is about saving up something that you do want to do, until you have finished doing something that you don't want to do.

For example: if Lisbeth started registering her books on bookcrossing in the morning, it is likely that she would occupy herself with that, and then other things that she enjoys to do on her computer, and not get to the trellis. However, if she starts with painting the trellis, knowing that she has something nice to look forward to after she has finished, the trellis gets done.

Anything can act as a Premack. This morning, Lisbeth painted half of one side of a panel then ate a breakfast; finished it off and had lunch and watched something on the TV. The next panel side was done in one go. Only after the two sides were finished did she reward herself with something that she liked doing: registering books on bookcrossing ready for releasing them into the wild on Friday.

Whatever curls your wool!

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