Behaviourism By Any Other Name is Still Behaviourism
It still sucks, and so does the so-called science behind it
First-then
“Positive” approaches need to provide authentic choice rather than simply using a nicer name for the same old thing. For example, using the “first-then” strategy to gain compliance is using reward and punishment, even if different words are used in their place.
For those who may not be familiar, the “first-then” strategy was originally developed as a tool to help people who struggle with unexpected change and transitions. It’s a way of communicating (verbally, in writing, or using pictures) what the short-term plan is. “First we’re eating dinner, then we’re going to soccer practice”.
What happened is behaviourists.
They took the thoughtful idea of giving people a heads-up before an upcoming change — kind of like what many of us do for ourselves when we create reminders in our devices or post a calendar on our wall — and began using it to manipulate and coerce people into compliance.
