Some applications of reinforcement theory

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This demonstrates one of the conditions under which such reinforcement works best - the expenditure of little additional effort on the part of the individual, together with the potential for a large payoff. This is the principle on which football pools and premium bonds work. Indeed, the use of prize draws is widely used as a marketing technique. There are some managers, incidentally, who object to such schemes on the basis that they involve paying people extra to do what they are already paid to do. This is, of course, a legitimate position to take, but in situations where all else has failed adherence to principles such as these may have a cost - in this example, continued high levels of absenteeism. 

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