POOGI for ABA

We often teach parents, staff, and supervisors to be overwhelmingly positive. You have been told that for each time you deliver a correction, you should find five things you can praise. That’s pretty hard to do, and takes a lot of practice.

The 5:1 positive-to-correction ratio has been studied extensively in a variety of contexts such as staff working with learners, supervisors working with staff, and even married couples. As a general rule, in most relationships, if your positive-to-correction ratio is around 5:1, things are probably going well.

Now, many of us who are overachievers tend to think if 5:1 is good, 10:1 must be better. Maybe we can go for 20:1? In fact, I’ve seen situations where people almost never get any negative feedback. But more isn’t always better. While it is an effective procedure, it can lead to problems if overused:

1. There are always problems to address. In many situations, the only way to get the ratio up to super-high levels is to ignore the problems. Of course, there are benefits to emphasizing the positive. But ignoring the problems ensures they will stay problems.
2. The person who is receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback, whether a child, staff person, or pretty much anyone, can start to believe that there is no need to improve. That’s terrible for the Poogi. There is always more to improve.
3. The person who is receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback is sure to eventually get some negative feedback. But now, because they aren’t used to ever getting any negative feedback, it will often lead to an emotional reaction.

The positive-to-correction ratio is a great procedure to teach parents, staff, and supervisors. Just be sure they don’t overdo it.

It is also worth checking the ratio of positive to negative feedback you are personally receiving. If it’s highly negative, no problem. No doubt you are aware of it and trying to do something about it.

But if no one is giving you any critical feedback? Then problems are probably not on your radar.  You probably are not on a POOGI. Go seek out negative feedback.  It’s the only way to POOGI.

Most of us learn a tremendous amount in grad school—it can be a life-changing experience. But there is a reason why jokes like a PhD stands for piled high and deep are so popular. They contain an element of truth.

For example, while in graduate school for behavior analysis, I learned that “data” is a plural noun. When talking about the data, it was never considered appropriate to say something like, “The data is…” Always say, “The data are…” I’ve heard frequent jokes over the years about how this is a great way to make fun of people who don’t know better, or how you might be asked to resign for using “data is” in a sentence. But recently, someone told me there is now active debate in some circles that maybe the word data should be considered singular after all.

This is a classic example of what is often called an “academic debate.” These things can be easy to get sucked into, but in reality, don’t make any difference at all in the real world.

Now, of course, it isn’t always easy to tell the difference between what is an “academic debate” and what is absolutely essential to learn. Therefore, in graduate school (like just about every other kind of school), you will learn some essential stuff, but you also learn an awful lot of stuff you will never use. In math class, we learned to tell time and count money—both essential skills. But we also learned to factor quadratic equations. Unless you are a math teacher, or your child needed help with homework, you probably never looked at quadratic equations again.

In graduate school, I learned some essential stuff, like how to assess and treat severe problem behaviors. But I also learned plenty of other stuff that was academic debate (e.g., never say “data is”).

In general, people are overly impressed with a degree. While academic knowledge can matter, what you really want is someone who can both walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk. A degree, generally, only guarantees someone can talk-the-talk, which is often the least important part of the process.

When hiring, does it matter if the person has Master’s degree or a PhD? People will generally assume the person with the PhD is more qualified. That may be true. But it may not. If you are a good talker/writer, you can probably get the degree. Don’t be too impressed with good talkers. What really matters is what people do.

“If Sam Breakstone Weren’t So Demanding, His Sour Cream Wouldn’t Be So Good”

 An old series of TV commercials tells the story of Sam Breakstone making sour cream. Sam is extremely demanding with his employees. He is constantly yelling at his staff. They are very frustrated with him. You can see an example here.

As silly as the commercials are, I love them because they capture a real-world conflict BCBAs face all the time.  Like Breakstone, BCBAs also have a challenging goal—to make a significant difference in the lives of the people we serve. But this takes a long time; it is hard to continuously push for what is needed, especially when stakeholders are satisfied with what has been done so far. If you push too hard, like Sam Breakstone, staff will be frustrated. If you don’t push hard enough, the long-term results will likely be poor.

If Sam had been a better manager, he might have tried reinforcing the staff who were using the skills needed to make great sour cream, and then celebrating as the sour cream was Poogi-ing. But there is real truth in the tagline of the commercial:  “If Sam Breakstone weren’t so demanding, his sour cream wouldn’t be so good.”

It is hard to stay focused on the long term when everything is going beautifully, sometimes even for years at a time. When no one is complaining and everyone is singing your praises, it is easy to become overconfident.

I think the Sam Breakstone commercials can teach us 3 important lessons:

1. When managing people, don’t be a jerk. You have to reward staff for working hard and celebrate results, even if it isn’t all the way to your final goal.
2. You have to know where you are going. Sam Breakstone was going for great sour cream. We are going towards making a significant difference in the lives of our clients. Having a clear focus is essential.
3. But you have to be demanding. Even when people are very satisfied, even when everyone is already praising the success, if you aren’t at the point where the behavior changes will maintain, it won’t matter in the long run.

If BCBAs aren’t so demanding, the long-term client results won’t be so good.