Here’s an example of using target – a yellow square — to encourage this child to move into the bathroom. He’s afraid of the noise of water running bathrooms outside of his house, so it’s important to teach him to like to go into the bathroom at school and other places.

His reinforcer is pulling a bead.

When they get to a blue bead the target is moved. When the tagulator is finished he gets his ipad or juice.

Notice that the teacher doesn’t say anything during the tagging session and, at the end, she gives sincere verbal praise and directs him to go get his ipad. The ipad and juice are sitting out in the hall, where he could easily just go and get them any time, yet he chooses to stay with the teacher and touch the target and pull the beads.

It is a well known phenomenon, supported by a large body of evidence, that people (animals too) would rather work for reinforcers than get them for free. The term for this is contrafreeloading.