Handing out colored bracelets and upbeat stickers when students behave well seems like an effective strategy for encouraging civility. Little prizes and public praise would seem to encourage honesty, ...

Every parent has offered incentives: “If you’re patient while I get the tires rotated, we’ll get ice cream afterwards.” Or, “if you play nicely with your cousin, you can use the iPad before dinner.” ...

In my last blog post, I wrote about using a continuous reinforcement schedule when you want to establish a new behavior. And I hinted that you should change that schedule after the behavior is ...

When it comes to rewards and punishments, which is more effective -- the carrot or the stick? A simple experiment suggests that punishments are more likely to influence behavior than rewards. The ...

A study has found that adolescents become highly motivated to seek rewards after just a few hours of social isolation. This may be beneficial in driving them toward social interaction, but when ...

Punishing students for poor performance may be more effective than rewarding them for doing well, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis. In an ...

Want to listen to this article out loud? Hear it on Slate Voice. A few months ago, my husband and I met a psychologist who advised us to start using rewards with our 6-year-old. Our son is happy, but ...