Approval Responses

Positive reinforcement is naturally reinforcing to use! Using consistent behavior modification techniques we can train for independence, preparing individuals to transfer information and/or skills across new situations beyond the context and relationships from which they were learned. Beyond the natural reinforcement that arises from a successful activity itself, however, we can intervene to modify and shape behavior using immediate, contingent responses. There are several types of approval or disapproval responses, including words either spoken or written, nonverbal expressions either facial or bodily, proximity such as nearness or touching, activities either social or individual, and things including materials, food, playthings, awards, etc. Dr. Madsen compiled an extensive overview of possible responses for each reinforcing or punishing approval so that we could develop those which work for us and the populations we serve.

I want to expand my repertoire of approval responses, and so selected those which might be appropriate. Please feel free to read which from the book I selected, or better yet - turn to page 198 (or page 260) in Teaching / Discipline: A Positive Approach for Educational Development to develop your own!

Words:

• Awesome
• Great
• Nice
• Clean
• That's wonderful
• That's right
• Very good
• For sure!
• Sure thing
• I like the way you __________
• Thank you for __________
• Clear thinking!
• I appreciate your attention
• You catch on quickly
• Exactly
• Absolutely
• Good responses
• I really like the way (name) is __________
• Cool
• How creative!
• Interesting questions
• That is respectable
• I'm proud of you
• You've really learned/grown/changed a lot
• You make being a teacher worthwhile
• I'm so happy you enjoy __________
• You will go far

Nonverbal Expressions:

• Eye contact
• Smiling
• Grinning
• Widening eyes
• Nodding
• Raising eyebrows
• Happy laughter or chuckling
• Cheering
• Rolling eyes enthusiastically
• Clapping hands
• Raising arms
• Signaling O.K.
• Thumbs up
• Dancing
• Taking a fast breath

Proximity:

• Interacting outside of sessions
• Sitting within the group
• Standing alongside
• Walking among
• Gently guiding
• Pausing while transferring objects
• Leaning towards
• Patting back
• Patting shoulder
• Touching arm
• Dancing with
• Shaking hands

Activities:

• Show and tell; displaying or sharing one's work
• Presenting one's hobby or skill
• Collecting and/or putting away materials
• Helping others
• Contributing to group discussions
• Being a group leader
• Recognizing birthdays
• Special seating arrangements
• Choosing activities
• Listening to music
• Outdoor activities
• Musical games
• Dancing
• Talent shows

Things:

• Books
• Magazines
• Markers
• Crayons
• Coloring pages
• Word puzzles
• Sudoku puzzles
• Paint supplies
• Colored paper
• Board games
• Basketball
• Playing cards
• Hand lotion
• Musical toys
• Drums
• Guitar
• Keyboard
• Karaoke machine
• Stereo/CD Player
• Bingo prizes, i.e., hats, deodorant, pencil pouches, socks, etc.
• Gum
• Sugar free cookies
• Stamps and letter stationary

Variety is the spice of approval responses - mix it up! Attend to individual differences and reinforce accordingly. Find what works for you, those you serve, and the environment. These lists are my own, they are what I find fit my personality, either university students or individuals with serious mental illness, and the classroom or the psychiatric hospital. Now, find which complements you. And remember, positive reinforcement is naturally reinforcing to use!

Something to Smile About

Smile! I mean it. Smile while you read this paragraph! Even though those forced smiles are able to be discriminated from natural, spontaneous smiles - and yes, both will influence others' perceptions of you - evidence suggests that you can act your way into a new way of feeling. Research participants demonstrated more positive experiences while holding a pencil between their teeth without touching their lips, such that they approximated smiling without awareness of the facial expression or the facial muscles being used (Soussignan, 2002).

Smiling feels good. Smiling is associated with helpful thoughts and positive feelings, but smiling has also been found to induce emotional contagion; those observing a smile will spontaneously mimic some of the emotional expression (Blairy, Herrera and Hess, 1999; Vrugt and Vet, 2009). Smiling increases cooperation, builds rapport, communicates altruism, and contributes to trust (Scharlemann, Eckel, Kaclnik and Wilson, 2001; Mehua, Grammerb and Dunbara, 2007). When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you!

Now, try a little smiling game as you reread this article: Smile every time you read the very word, "smile." Find out just how quickly it might affect your mood, then go out and share it with the whole world! Smile!

Post Script - Mona Lisa seems to be smiling when in your periphery vision, but her lips appear to flatten out when you look at them directly.

Post Post Script - "Smile" is one of those words that sounds funnier and funnier the more you say it. Smile. Smiles. Smilessss. Smile. SmILE. SMile. Smile. sMILE. sMILEY. smilE. smile. Smile. SMILE.



Blairy, S., Herrera, P., & Hess, U. (1999). Mimicry and the judgement of emotional facial expressions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 23, 5-35.
Mehua, M., Grammerb K. and Dunbara, R.I.M. (2007). Smiles when sharing. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 415-422.
Scharlemann, J. P., Eckel, G. G., Kacelnik, A., & Wilson, R. K. (2001). The value of a smile: Game theory with a human face. Journal of Economic Psychology, 22, 617-640.
Soussignan, Robert. (2002). Duchenne smile, emotional experience, and autonomic reactivity: A test of the facial feedback hypothesis. Emotion, 2(1), 52-74.
Vrugt, Anneke and Vet, Carolijn. (2009). Effects of a Smile on Mood and Helping Behavior. Social Behavior and Personality; an international journal, 37(9), 1251-1257.

"Little Wing," by Jimi Hendrix

For a soft side of the guitar guru, "Little Wing" is a short song with (comparatively) humble instrumentation. He sings a poetic description of some woman, perhaps in memory of his mother, a guardian angel, a free-spirited lover, a dream-like imagination, or psychedlia. In an interview, he clarified that the song was written to personify the atmosphere of the 1967 Montery Pop Festival. She is quite the colorful character: "Well she's walking through the clouds with a circus mind that's running round. Butterflies and zebras and moonbeams and fairy tales, that's all she ever thinks about, riding with the wind."

As you listen to the song, let Jimi Hendrix slip past you altogether. Listen for the bells. The glockenspiel's complementary melody is what most intrigues me about this recording. I'm not yet able to describe beauty, but I will elaborate on a transferred concept: support. The glockenspiel supports the electric guitar and voice, and the song would sound entirely different without it. The glockenspiel earns a gig with Hendrix, and Hendrix sounds better.

Support is comforting someone when they need help, but is also celebrating another's success. Support is validating someone's humanity, and also affirming the good, the exciting, the nobel. There is a spectrum of complementary roles we may fill, from selfish manipulator to selfless lover, and including vicarious living, simple chivalry, communication, empathy, altruism, and compassion. How you relate to others defines who you are, how you raise your kids, how you support the people you let in your life, or even what your professional boundaries are. "When I'm sad, she comes to me with a thousand smiles, she gives to me free. It's alright, she says, it's alright." "Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep (Elbert Hubbard)."