In their book Life’s a PICNIC when you understand behaviour, authors Aubrey Daniels and Alice Lattal describe the application of behaviour analysis to everyday settings and real life situations. They use the ‘PIC-NIC’ analysis to describe how the things that have the most impact over behaviour are generally events that are Positive, Immediate and Certain (PIC) or Negative, Immediate and Certain (NIC).
The PIC explained…
Positive means the outcome needs to be valued by the person whose behaviour is being analysed. Immediate means the outcome (or what is intended to be a reinforcer) needs to be delivered immediately following the desired behaviour. Certain means there should be a guarenteed outcome, the only condition on the outcome is that the desired behaviour occurs.
This thoughtful analysis by Daniels and Lattal is a simple yet effective way to summarise some of the key points regarding the use of positive reinforcement to change behaviour. The added bonus is that the simple idea of PICs and NICs to create behaviour change is supported by decades of behaviour analytic research.
Taylor Behavioural 