In the 1950s, behavioral psychologists experimented with learning by rewarding caged rats with a food pellet every time the rats pressed a lever. Although the rats initially only pressed the lever randomly or by mistake, they quickly learned the relationship between behavior and reward. In psych terms, the food reinforced the lever-pressing behavior, that is, made it more likely to be repeated. The rats soon learned this was a constant source of nourishment and eventually learned that they could depend on the lever to dispense a pellet each time they needed one. This is continuous reinforcement. So the rats lived healthy and carefree lives, running around on the treadmill, grooming, and getting food whenever they wished. One could say the rats developed a secure attachment to the food lever.

Then the scientists changed the reward interval to intermittent, dispensing food only some of the time, sometimes at set intervals, sometimes completely at random. The rats, once rewarded by the lever, press it again. Nothing. Press it again, nothing. But a third try, and a pellet of food is dispensed. So the rats, still hungry, press the lever again, but nothing happens, in fact, nothing happens for about 20 depresses, then a pellet is dispensed. This is intermittent reinforcement. The rats responded with frantic lever-pressing. One could say the rats developed an obsessive/insecure/addictive attachment to the food lever. So much so that some of them stopped playing, grooming, or even drinking, and some died of exhaustion or dehydration.

Then came the extinction phase of the experiment. Extinction is a process of eliminating a behavior by stopping the delivery of reinforcers responsible for maintaining the behavior. During an extinction period, a behavior is never reinforced. So the rats received no pellets.

The rats in the continuous reinforcement group lost interest with the lever and preoccupied themselves with other things. Extinction of the behavior happened quickly.

With the rats in the intermittent reinforcement group, the opposite happened. The rats had grown accustomed to periods of no reinforcement, and stayed obsessed with the lever, despite receiving nothing, in the expectation that reinforcement would resume again as it had in the past. The intermittent reinforcement had created persistence in the face of resistance. Intermittent reinforcement makes an extinction period harder for animals to discriminate, so extinction takes much longer.

HOW THIS APPLIES TO BRATTY CHILDREN
Children can learn very quickly that a tantrum, if they persist long enough, will sometimes give them the reward they desire. Never give in to tantrums.

YOUR ADDICTION TO A BAD RELATIONSHIP
When you first became involved with SO, they were kind to you the majority of the time, maybe even love bombed you. During the devaluation cycle, you become so depressed, the less-frequent crumbs of kindness you receive from your psycho SO can feel so good, you start to live for those moments.

HOW THIS APPLIES TO YOUR PSYCHO EX
Never reward your ex with attention unless absolutely necessary, ignore 99% of the BS they spew. They want a response, never give it to them.

YOUR SKIDS UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PSYCHO EX
Kids instinctually need nurturance from their parents, regardless of how disordered a parent is. It’s easy to take for granted the affections of a normal parent, but these kids have to earn every crumb they get from the disordered parent. They become obsessed with winning that parent's love and affection. The normal parent is chopped liver.