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Isn't that exactly how this program was operating? Short-term reward payoff: monthly cash; long-term reward: children graduate from school.
by rmuesi 9y ago
Isn't that exactly how this program was operating? Short-term reward payoff: monthly cash; long-term reward: children graduate from school.
- btilly 9y agoIn the context of brain psychology, short-term needs to be seconds to minutes. For example try to train a dog with rewards that come an hour later. It won't work. In the example that I gave, you brush your teeth, your mouth feels better right away. That works. By contrast if you start working on your project now, next week you won't have a miserable all-nighter. That doesn't work. Just ask anyone in college if you doubt me. That is why a monthly feedback cycle did not prove to be successful motivation here.
- _rpd 9y agoGamify anti-poverty programs? I wonder though, isn't forgoing small short-term rewards for greater long-term rewards a key aspect of escaping poverty? How can you condition that behavior with short-term rewards?
- btilly 9y agoThat's a good question, and I don't have a good answer. But well-off people that I know manage to forgo short-term rewards by having an internal counteracting short-term reward in line with the desired long-term reward. Maybe this is a teachable skill..?
- _rpd 9y agoThis article suggests that delayed gratification can be taught ... https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/1182 https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/1182