AA medallions came into being nearly 70 years ago. Using medallions began as a means of noting significant sobriety events of people who were trying to break their addiction to alcohol. Using medallions proved more effective and productive than the prior system of commemoration which was to present a birthday cake to mark significant achievement times in the path to sobriety. Birthday cake giving, however, was abandoned in favor of medallions because the corresponding celebrations surrounding the giving of the cake often led to the in recipients' relapsing into old drinking habits.
Breaking a physical dependence on alcohol, narcotics or even nicotine is often extremely difficult. Modern approaches to addiction problems usually mix both chemical and social or non-chemical components to help users disrupt the habit. Eventually the chemical treatment is progressively withdrawn leaving only the social ingredient in place as the primary treatment component. The remaining treatment option, the non-chemical component, often comes in the form of some type of reinforcer such as AA medallions.
Motivation is what we draw on when striving to achieve goals. It's common knowledge that highly motivated people are more likely to attain goals they've set for themselves than people who are not so highly motivated. Reinforcement theory, which comes from behavioral psychology, posits that motivation can be increased or decreased through the application of reinforcement. In very basic terms reinforcement can be used either as a reward or punishment to increase or decrease desired behaviors.
Many of us possess innate inborn motivating forces called intrinsic factors. They are internal and manifest themselves as interest, curiosity, satisfaction and enjoyment to name a few. For others, intrinsic factors aren't enough to maintain motivation so introducing extrinsic factors often proves useful in helping them achieve a higher level of motivation. Extrinsic factors take two forms: social reinforcement which primarily refers to forms of talking like giving praise and physical or tangible reinforcement which usually takes the form of things like money, prizes and trophies. The awarding of trophies is an excellent example of a powerful motivator that predates modern reinforcement theory by a thousand years and yet contains all the motivating elements espoused in present day behavioral psychology. The current custom of giving trophies, whether at professional sporting affairs or more formalized celebrations of talent like the Grammy Awards, is often done under the guise of great pomp and ceremony. It's a very public acknowledgement of the recipients' accomplishments much as AA medallions are for people who are celebrating their significant triumphs.
In two weeks I'll be looking at a significant day in my life and that is the day that I quit smoking. During the time that I've not smoked I've had to look hard for things to remind of why I quit smoking to help renew my determination to remain nicotine free. It's not always been an easy path and I've come perilously close to falling off the wagon. I sincerely believe that had I had some type of tangible reminder like a medallion to remind me of the amount of time I've been successful in ridding myself of my addiction, I'd have a constant source renewal for going forward.
Breaking a physical dependence on alcohol, narcotics or even nicotine is often extremely difficult. Modern approaches to addiction problems usually mix both chemical and social or non-chemical components to help users disrupt the habit. Eventually the chemical treatment is progressively withdrawn leaving only the social ingredient in place as the primary treatment component. The remaining treatment option, the non-chemical component, often comes in the form of some type of reinforcer such as AA medallions.
Motivation is what we draw on when striving to achieve goals. It's common knowledge that highly motivated people are more likely to attain goals they've set for themselves than people who are not so highly motivated. Reinforcement theory, which comes from behavioral psychology, posits that motivation can be increased or decreased through the application of reinforcement. In very basic terms reinforcement can be used either as a reward or punishment to increase or decrease desired behaviors.
Many of us possess innate inborn motivating forces called intrinsic factors. They are internal and manifest themselves as interest, curiosity, satisfaction and enjoyment to name a few. For others, intrinsic factors aren't enough to maintain motivation so introducing extrinsic factors often proves useful in helping them achieve a higher level of motivation. Extrinsic factors take two forms: social reinforcement which primarily refers to forms of talking like giving praise and physical or tangible reinforcement which usually takes the form of things like money, prizes and trophies. The awarding of trophies is an excellent example of a powerful motivator that predates modern reinforcement theory by a thousand years and yet contains all the motivating elements espoused in present day behavioral psychology. The current custom of giving trophies, whether at professional sporting affairs or more formalized celebrations of talent like the Grammy Awards, is often done under the guise of great pomp and ceremony. It's a very public acknowledgement of the recipients' accomplishments much as AA medallions are for people who are celebrating their significant triumphs.
In two weeks I'll be looking at a significant day in my life and that is the day that I quit smoking. During the time that I've not smoked I've had to look hard for things to remind of why I quit smoking to help renew my determination to remain nicotine free. It's not always been an easy path and I've come perilously close to falling off the wagon. I sincerely believe that had I had some type of tangible reminder like a medallion to remind me of the amount of time I've been successful in ridding myself of my addiction, I'd have a constant source renewal for going forward.
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