On Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 7:21 PM, William Robb <anotherdrunken...@gmail.com> wrote: > On 28/11/2011 12:21 PM, Tom C wrote: >> > >> 7. I generally give only positive feedback and feel that praising the >> positive is the best way of promoting improvement and continued >> excellence. The photographer can learn the basics from a book and with >> practice, so I feel no need to give instruction. > > Well, yes and no. Only giving positive feedback can have exactly the > opposite effect. > Here's a metaphor. > As you know, I take pride in my abilities to train dogs. As a dog trainer, > one of the tools I use is called "positive reinforcement". This training > technique (and it is quite successful) used praise when the dog does > something tight, and no feedback at all when the dog doesn't do what you > want. > The idea is that by ignoring undesirable behaviour and praising the dog > whenever it comes up with a way to please the owner, the dog will tend to > start doing that which gives it feedback, and will cease doing the > undesirable stuff which gives it nothing at all. > > So, lets take what we have learned about simple psychology and apply it to > photography. > A person goes out and shoots a subject, any subject, and manages to hit on a > decent picture. They post it to the internet and get back positive comments, > comments that may be semi specific in relation to aspects of the image. > So, the person starts looking for those aspects, since this is what garnered > positive feedback. > And next thing you know, they have a whole body of work of what is > essentially the same picture. > Take it from someone who has a whole body of work that is essentially the > same picture, I know of what I speak.
Sounds like operant conditioning is the way to go. Maybe the pdml can pioneer a Skinner Box for photographers...? :) -c -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
