In psychology, obedience training is better known as behavior modification and we will use a lot of the techniques used in psychology to modify and shape a submissive's behavior. This post is meant as an introduction and will cover the basics but not delve too deeply. You should read part one of Obedience Training first.
Classical Conditioning
This technique involves pairing an unconditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus to produce a conditioned response. If you are familiar with psychology, you probably learned of Pavlov's experiments with dogs. Pair a bell (neutral stimulus) with food (unconditioned stimulus). The dog salivates from the food. Pair these enough times and the bell alone will produce salvation without the food being present. Classical conditioning is good for autonomic responses to stimuli or involuntary responses such as breathing, heartbeats, salvation, etc.
Classical conditioning isn't used nearly as much in submissive training but still has its uses. One of the responses it may be useful for is arousal. Say you paired a command such as "open your legs" with the use of a vibrator. The vibrator would produce arousal and if you paired these often enough the command itself would produce an arousal response such as getting wet. You don't need to use a verbal command or sound as a stimulus either. It could be a certain touch somewhere that you pair with the vibrator. After the response becomes conditioned you could use that touch anywhere to create arousal in your submissive. Perhaps at a dinner party or out shopping to add some sexy fun.
Things to keep in mind:
You will need to pair the two stimuli as close together in time as possible for it to be effective.
You will need to be patient and consistent with this technique as it will take many pairings to get the response you want.
Operant Conditioning
Most frequently, you will use operant conditioning to train your submissive. This technique uses rewards and punishments to modify your submissive's behavior. Although it seems pretty straightforward, there are several things you need to keep in mind to have success.
Rewards in behavioral terms are called reinforcers. Reinforcers are events that strengthen or increase the desired behavior. These can be either positive reinforcers or negative reinforcers. Positive reinforcers are favorable events or items that are introduced following the desired behavior. Typical positive reinforcers include cuddling, a warm bath, a favorite snack, praise, etc. Negative reinforcers on the other hand involve the removal of an unfavorable event or item after the desired behavior occurs. This isn't used as much but may include not having to do a certain unliked chore or the removal of a chastity device if they did well on what you wanted them to do.
Punishments are adverse events that decrease an undesired behavior. These can be both positive and negative as well. Positive punishments are the implementation of something unfavorable. The most common are things like spanking, flogging, corning time, and time outs are all examples of possible punishments. Negative punishments are the removal of something desired. Taking away a cell phone, clothes, and privileges are examples of this.
Another thing to be aware of is the amount of reward to give. You can give constant, fixed, or variable reinforcement. These can be done on a time basis or a ratio. For example, a fixed ratio reinforcement schedule could provide a reward every three times or whatever works. A fixed time ratio might provide reinforcement once an hour that they are doing the desired behaviors. Variable reinforcement is similar but instead of being fixed, you vary the ratio or timing. Constant reinforcement provides a reward after each instance of desired behavior.
So which is best? Well, constant reinforcements and punishment provide for fast learning. However, if rewards or punishments are removed, the desired behavior tends to disappear rather quickly. Variable ratios or timed reinforcements provide for fast responses and also last longer since they may still expect rewards or punishments for a time. The best practice is to start rewards and punishments fairly frequently and fade them out by increasing the ratio or timing slowly over time. Your submissive will learn quickly, do their tasks without delay, and without constantly needing rewards. After all, they should be doing what they are told without the need for constant correction.
Extinction
A technique that involves ignoring a problem behavior. The idea is if it isn't rewarded or punished, it will go away on its own or be replaced by good behaviors. An example is a sub that is doing things to get attention. Ignore the behaviors that they are doing to get attention and they will most likely go away. In addition, it's good to reward an alternate desired behavior.
Modeling
Sometimes a submissive learns best by showing them what to do step by step. This is what modeling does. Want them to do something a certain way? Well, show them how you want it done!
A last note. It's important to be consistent in training your submissive. Not punishing or rewarding when they expect it can lead to confusion and a feeling that maybe you aren't being serious about their training.
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