Description
Successive approximation is a technique from behavioral psychology where we reward ourselves for each step toward accomplishing a bigger goal.
How to Do It
- Determine your large overall goal(s)
- Break them down into steps. These can be objectives and tasks.
- Determine what your reward will be for completing a task
- Reward yourself for completing each task.
This may mean creating an goal/objective and task list and giving yourself a reward for each task completion.
Benefits
- May increase the frequency of positive behavior
- May help you accomplish tasks that have no immediate reward
- May mitigate procrastination
- May improve mood
- May improve productivity and focus
- May improve health
Time Commitment
5-10 minutes
Why it works
Rewarding a behavior creates a positive association that makes us more likely to engage in the same behavior again. In the brain, rewarded behaviors are associated with higher dopamine secretions [1].
This technique makes large goals tangible and makes you more likely to take specific steps towards accomplishing them.
Suggested Frequency
Daily
Supporting Studies and Articles
- Arias-Carrión, O., Stamelou, M., Murillo-Rodríguez, E., Menéndez-González, M., & Pöppel, E. (2010). Dopaminergic reward system: A short integrative review. International Archives of Medicine, 3, 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/1755-7682-3-24
- Armellino, D., Hussain, E., Schilling, M. E., Senicola, W., Eichorn, A., Dlugacz, Y., & Farber, B. F. (2012). Using High-Technology to Enforce Low-Technology Safety Measures: The Use of Third-party Remote Video Auditing and Real-time Feedback in Healthcare. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 54(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cir773
- Cheval, B., Radel, R., Neva, J. L., Boyd, L. A., Swinnen, S. P., Sander, D., & Boisgontier, M. P. (2018). Behavioral and Neural Evidence of the Rewarding Value of Exercise Behaviors: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 48(6), 1389–1404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0898-0
- Scott, D. S., & Rosenstiel, A. K. (1979). Chapter 13 - Covert Positive Reinforcement Studies: Review, Critique, and Guidelines**Reprinted with permission from Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 1975, 12, 374–384.††The authors wish to express their appreciation to Mary Grace Baron for her suggestions and careful reading of the manuscript. In D. Upper & J. R. Cautela (Eds.), Covert Conditioning (pp. 117–134). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-023346-8.50017-5
Side Effects
May induce addiction
Required Equipment
None
Gurus/Celebrities/Doing it
Brian Tracy
David Allen
Suggested Time of Day
Any time
Notes
- Try not to reward your positive behaviors with unhealthy food as might have bad long term effects.
- Sometimes just checking a task on your to-do list will feel like a reward in your brain
- Try using task apps such as Nirvanahq.com
- For groups trying to use Asana or Smartsheet
- Check out the GTD method for effective task management
