From Principles to Applications

Lesson 1: Employ More Positive Consequences

Lesson 2: Benefit from Observational Learning

Lesson 3: Improve with Behavioral Feedforward and Feedback

Lesson 4: Use More Supportive than Corrective Feedback

Lesson 5: Embrace and Practice Empathy

Lesson 6: Distinguish between Managing Behavior and Leading People

Lesson 7: Progress from Self-Actualization to Self-Transcendence

AC4P Policing in Action

AC4P Wristband Stories

Wristband Stories from the Field

This teaching/learning process is founded on seven research-based lessons or guidelines from psychology---the science of human experience. The first three lessons reflect the critical behavior-management fundamentals of positive reinforcement, observational learning, and behavior-based feedback. The subsequent four lessons are derived from humanism, but behaviorism or ABS is essential for bringing these humanistic principles to life. The result: humanistic behaviorism to enhance long-term positive relations between police officers and the citizens they serve, thereby preventing interpersonal conflict, violence, and harm.

Furthermore, optimal training of these seven AC4P Policing lessons calls for relevant role playing and behavioral instruction. In fact, the term "training" implies that certain information is actually practiced by the learning participants, followed by improvement-focused behavioral instruction. Without an action and feedback component, a teaching/learning session can only be considered "education" or awareness. This manual guides both education and training, and therefore the explanation of each research-based principle for AC4P Policing is followed by questions or scenarios to facilitate group discussion, and behavioral exercises are given to practice the principle and receive supportive and corrective feedback. The sharing of opinions and ideas will illustrate the variety of relevant applications from one research-based principle.

Some of these group discussions will become brainstorming sessions of innovative applications for AC4P Policing. And, when some of these possibilities are practiced through interpersonal role playing with feedback, you have genuine "training" that increases the probability of real-world beneficial application in the community.

In Conclusion

Congratulations! You have just learned leading-edge principles and procedures for improving other people's behavior, while also increasing positive connections between you, your colleagues, and the citizens you serve. We sincerely hope you have acquired more than an understanding of the seven principles of humanistic behaviorism (the academic term for the foundation of AC4P Policing), but that you believe in the validity of these research-based principles for improving interpersonal attitudes and behavior.

Most importantly, we hope you feel empowered to begin practicing the principles with family members, colleagues, and eventually the citizens you serve in the community. For example, implementing the feedforward and feedback techniques with empathy will surely reap observable benefits. And, by reflecting on the results of your behavior-focused conversations, you will continuously improve your skills at benefitting other people's behavior through one-to-one conversation.

Then, when you add the AC4P wristbands and the SAPS process to your interpersonal communications, you maximize the positive consequences of each conversation. You will have recruited another participant for the AC4P Movement, and thus helped to nurture an AC4P culture of interpersonal trust, empathy, compassion, and routine acts of kindness.

The result: Police offices will be viewed as positive proactive agents of beneficial change rather than as negative law-enforcement officials who only react to antisocial behavior or crises with punitive consequences.