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A brief look at the psychology behind Riot's behavior conditioning

Meteor Driz·10/30/2018, 8:06:55 PM·18 votes·11,319 views

There are 4 basic types of basic behavioural conditioning. Riot utilizes 3 out of the 4 in various ways. They are:

Positive Punishment – Adding something bad when something bad happens (ex: extra laps for talking in gym class)

Negative Punishment – Taking away something good when something bad happens (ex: taking away tv for bad grades)

Positive Reinforcement – Adding something good when something good happens (ex: giving a high five for something good)

Negative Reinforcement – Removing something bad when something good happens (ex: stop nagging someone when they do the dishes)

-A Closer Look-

Positive Punishment is used for:

  • Adding a longer queue for AFKs and leavers

Negative Punishment is used for:

  • Taking away chat from badly behaved players (chat restrictions)
  • Taking away the ability to play from badly behaved players (bans/suspensions)
  • Taking away the end of season rewards from badly behaved players
  • Taking away LP for dodging a game

Positive Reinforcement is used for:

  • Giving end of season rewards for neutral or positive behaviour
  • *Giving honour and border badges for positive players. Note: This is an indirect method as the players reinforce each other, not Riot. Edit: Adding Key Fragments to this list, which are rewarded to players for receiving honour. Thank you to Jo0o for bringing this up.

**Negative Reinforcement is not used. **

_-Analysis- _ Riot focuses more on punishing bad behaviour than reinforcing good behaviour. As positive reinforcement is accepted as the most effective form of behavioural conditioning, Riot should find more ways to promote positive behaviour. This will lead to a more positive environment across the entire player base.

“Positive reinforcement is the most important and most widely applied principle of behaviour analysis” – Cooper, Heron and Heward

30 Comments

Jo0o10/30/2018, 8:21:02 PM18 votes

The average player should experience positive reinforcement from Riot much more frequently than any other type. We constantly get encouraging messages with free key fragments for good behavior, as well as gifts every time our honor levels increase.

R107 Games10/30/2018, 8:20:28 PM9 votes

Better rewards for honor would be effective imo

Ice Weasel X10/31/2018, 12:11:04 AM5 votes

[{quoted}](name=Meteor Driz,realm=NA,application-id=ZGEFLEUQ,discussion-id=HqriRo3f,comment-id=,timestamp=2018-10-30T20:06:55.394+0000)

Negative Punishment – Taking away something good when something bad happens (ex: taking away tv for bad grades)

Positive Reinforcement – Adding something good when something good happens (ex: giving a high five for something good)

...

Negative Punishment is used for:

  • Taking away the end of season rewards from badly behaved players

Positive Reinforcement is used for:

  • Giving end of season rewards for neutral or positive behaviour

I disagree with categorizing a lack of season rewards as negative punishment. Players haven't earned them yet, so they aren't taken away. Once an account has earned its season rewards, next year's penalties will not result in them being removed. Rewards are strictly positive reinforcement. It's just the players with a feeling of entitlement due to previous reward systems that think it's a punishment not to get them.

Negative Punishment: Removal or net loss Positive Reinforcement: Reward or net gain

Not gaining is not a net loss. You can lose your chat and playing privileges, but not your season rewards once you have earned them (and until the season ends, nobody has earned them). If you haven't earned them, you aren't losing them.

mlm olo mlm10/30/2018, 8:53:16 PM3 votes

You need to go deeper.

https://nij.gov/five-things/pages/deterrence.aspx

For example, punishment severity and punishment certainty.

Punishment timing is another factor. I think there is 4 but the last one is eluding me.

SpecterVonBaren10/31/2018, 9:31:29 AM3 votes

So now even the very act of not being an asshole to people need to be "incentivized"? How bout no? People shouldn't be given a freaking reward for doing the bare minimum of common decency.

rujitra10/30/2018, 8:22:12 PM2 votes

You miscategorize chat restrictions. They are Positive Punishment. A restriction on your ability to chat is added when you misbehave - it is not taken away altogether.

Pandemic Punch10/31/2018, 4:41:17 AM2 votes

Also, Riot doesn't just punish bad behavior necessarily. You can get punished for saying one word, but that doesn't necessarily make it bad behavior :)

Ada Wong11/1/2018, 12:03:12 AM2 votes

Could we please for the love of god get some type of punishment for "GRIEFERS" It's just that time of season again where players are flat out griefing people in games.

Jungler comes into lane, and completely throws lane early at level 4 putting enemy ahead (They know to stop) but refuse. Support joins in with them trolling lane phase a second time. (Again they know it's unwanted.) Try go go back to lane suddnly (Jungle is there farming lane)

By the time they stop enemy is already like 3 levels ahead, and they won't give confirmation they stop and just type toxic crap so you just have to mute them because they are really upsetting.

Riot needs to step up to deal with this type of trolls.

Jamaree10/30/2018, 8:10:29 PM2 votes

Ideas?

Danksley10/30/2018, 8:38:15 PM2 votes

Make it even more negative.

Disable victorious, pax, gemstone, etc skins while below honor 2.

DrFreud11/1/2018, 12:03:55 AM1 votes

We should not use the reward for being nice as a good way to make people stop being jerks. The flaw in a reward is that, if the reward is not cared for, it has no effect.

I am a decent humanbeing in my games because it is right to be so. Not because i wan't my border for a few gg honor votes.

The only real positive reinforcement I get that is satisfactory in LoL is when i report a player and get a message saying that he was punished. Riot wan't to eliminate a bad behaviour : Educate them on life... oh wait, not their role... Freaking restrict their chat, pings and emote.

I'm tired of being told to Mute them. It would be fine if i did not have to do it every game. Mute them is like putting my head in the sand. Here is what i want as a positive reinforcement: Give me a real hammer. Give me the ability to flag their calls in chat (and restrict / ban them if they get flagged too much).

RallerenP10/30/2018, 9:26:12 PM1 votes

I mean, just about every time I log in I get a keyfragment. Not even joking. I'm pretty sure I get one 90% of the times I log in to the client.

DSynched10/30/2018, 9:34:26 PM1 votes

Negative Reinforcement:

  • Chat restricting someone that exclusively trolls by running it down mid
FilDaFunk10/31/2018, 3:57:54 AM1 votes

Have a chocolate.

gileskd10/31/2018, 4:10:41 AM1 votes

Negative Reinforcement – Removing something bad when something good happens (ex: stop nagging someone when they do the dishes)

champion nerfed because they saw pro play once, while the other 99% get untouched

[slayer-jinx-wink]

Faneseeker10/31/2018, 4:42:58 AM1 votes

Very interesting. Is this your theory or can I find this somewhere in a book?

Jack Garrus10/31/2018, 10:35:38 AM1 votes

As Inceptions teaches: a good feeling is stronger than a negative one

minorhacks10/31/2018, 11:47:38 AM1 votes

Not everyone sees a key fragment as a reward. So of us are sitting on a truckload of keys.

SanKakU10/31/2018, 9:47:37 PM1 votes

If someone selects fill but doesn't get autofilled allies, that would be negative reinforcement. Too bad Riot doesn't want to do that.