Tiny Habits is Dog Training for Humans
Why are you calling this dog training for humans?
So glad you asked.
Because it follows the same format as mark and reward (clicker) training. Clicker training is an evidence-based, positive reinforcement approach to behavior change. Just like Tiny Habits. It is used to train many kinds of animals, from dogs and cats to llamas and horses to even spiders and snakes!
The format of this training is:
Desirable behavior occurs.
Trainer marks (with a click, short word or other signal like the whistle at a dolphin show) the exact moment the behavior occurs.
Animal gets a delicious food reward within 6 seconds of the click.
Animal is psyched and wants to do it again.
What if learning new health behaviors could make you as happy as these dogs?
In the Tiny Habits method we give ourselves an immediate reward for a specific desired behavior by celebrating!
Shaming people only leads to frustration, and negative feelings lead to avoidance. Avoiding something that has only ever made you unhappy doesn’t mean you’re weak, it means you have animal DNA. (The technical name for this is Negative Conditioned Emotional Response. Now you know we’re not just being touchy feely.) We can do better for ourselves.
“[Positive reinforcement] techniques are based on the science of animal learning, which says that behaviors that are rewarded are more likely to be repeated in the future. So rather than focusing on what your dog is doing wrong, and taking good behavior for granted, clicker training flips the script and concentrates on what your dog is doing right. By telling your dog what to do, instead of what not to do, you can have an incredible effect on how your dog chooses to behave.”
