Misunderstanding Motivation
About this episode
The episode discusses the common misconceptions about animal motivation and behavior.
After 20 years working with animals across species, one issue shows up again and again: Motivation is misunderstood. When behavior doesn’t happen, people assume: • the animal is stubborn • the animal isn’t interested • the animal “knows it but won’t do it” But behavior doesn’t happen because we want it to. It happens because, in that moment, it is worth it to the animal.
More episodes of Coffee with the Critters
- Labels Don’t Solve Behavior Problems
- If We Can’t Describe Behavior, We Can’t Change It
- Calm is a Skill: Teaching Regulation, Not Suppression
- Reinforcement History
- Data Collection
- From The Vault: Understanding Positive Reinforcement Part 2
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