Positive Reinforcement or Postively Unreinforced?

You know how most parents reward their kids when they do something good? Well, my parents never worked like that.

My parents made sure that I knew I was a complete failure. They never exercised positive reinforcement for anything. Like the contest I won in first grade for fire safety week in which I thought outside the box. I told them about it and their reply was "Oh yeah?" and "That's nice" it was never "Good Job" or "I'm so proud of you".

When I brought home all A's in elementary school and constantly made the honor roll it was never "Keep up the good work Josh" it was "Yeah, I saw that."

Then, during my senior year in high school, I was about to fail and have to take the entire year over again I didn't get a "You're a smart kid, I know you can get your grades up" it was just "There's no way you're gonna pass this grade"

And when I did pass the grade and graduate, there was no "Oh my! You totally surprised us." it was just "Well, you should have done that earlier in the year."

So why did I even end up being a decent human being? If you ask my mom she'll tell ya its all because of her. Not because of something I've done.