"Premacking" It

This one strategy has been my key to surviving quarantine and isolation – I am Premacking my days constantly!

What does that mean?

I’m talking about the Premack Principle. You might have heard about this before, and a lot of people think it just means to do the hard stuff before the easy stuff (e.g., First exercise, Then Netflix).

This is partially true!

It’s always a good idea to follow up something we don’t like, with something we do like. I like to watch Netflix after I study, or after I’ve cleaned the house. Kids (and me too!) like to have dessert after they’ve had their dinner and healthy food. They like to play their video games after they’ve finished their homework.

But, there’s more to the Premack Principle than that!

It’s not just about the things we like and don’t like, or the things we find hard or easy. It’s actually about how often we do things.

The principle implies that if we follow-up an activity that we do less often, with an activity we do frequently, we are more likely to get that lower probability activity done.

There’s a lot to unpack here:

First, this means that neither of the activities has to be things you like! And neither has to be easy! But generally, if you’re doing something often, it probably is something you like, or it is something easy, or both!

• For example, I wash the dishes a lot, I don’t necessarily like washing the dishes, but I do it a lot, and it’s pretty easy.

• For example, I exercise every day, and sometimes I like it, but it’s not always easy…

• For example, I watch Netflix every day, and that is something I like and I find easy!

Next, this means that the “Then” in your “First, Then” set-up doesn’t have to be something reinforcing!

Think back to last week’s blog post on reinforcement, and how different people find different things reinforcing, and that reinforcers can sometimes be subtle.

Let’s say for example I wanted to start a new habit, like to start stretching daily!

Instead of setting up a complicated system where I reinforce myself for stretching with a weekly tally system, or something like that, instead, I just say to myself: I’m going to stretch every morning for 2 minutes before I brush my teeth.

Brushing our teeth isn’t exactly something we would think of as reinforcing! But, it is something we do every day (hopefully a couple of times each day!). And by setting myself up with this routine, brushing my teeth becomes a cue to stretch (in case I forget), and it actually does serve a reinforcing purpose, though subtle! Because we are generally reinforced by getting to check things off of our to-do lists, and by following our routines (plus, there would probably be some pretty unpleasant social consequences if we didn’t brush our teeth).

That’s all fine and dandy for setting ourselves up with new habits… but how does this relate to what we can do with our kids?

The Premack Principle can be helpful in a couple of ways:

• It can be a great tool when you’re trying to schedule your kids’ day! You can rotate between activities your child doesn’t like, does like, doesn’t do a lot, does a lot, and that are hard, and are easy! For example:

1. Make the bed (maybe something that doesn’t happen often), then eat breakfast (happens every day!)

2. Wash your face (maybe something you’re working on with them), then brush your teeth (happens every day!)

3. Pick up a few toys (not a fun activity and doesn’t happen often), then get dressed (happens every day)

4. Walk the dog (not always a fun activity), then play outside (fun activity!), etc.

Notice how it breaks the day up into reasonable expectations and activities for your child!

• It can also be a great tool when your child doesn’t appear to be reinforced by anything, or when a natural reinforcer for an activity is hard to come by! For example, some kids really don’t like praise – and instead, praise acts like a punishment for them. If this is the case, you can watch how they spend their time and which activities they do a lot, and start setting up your day so that in order to get to do that activity, your child needs to do the new skill or routine you’re trying to teach (like doing homework or cleaning their rooms)!

Give it a go, and try Premacking your day! Let me know how it goes below. You got this!