Basic Pursuits

Years ago I learned about Skinner Behaviorism. This early experimental psychology focused on positive and negative reinforcement. For example, you might ring a bell, a stimulus. If the rat did what you wanted, you'd give the rat a treat. That's positive reinforcement. If he did something that you did not want, you'd give him a mild electrical shock. That's negative reinforcement.

Experimenters figured out that positive reinforcement produced faster learning. That discovery hugely influenced the ending of corporal punishment in schools.