In the late 1930’s, Burrhus Frederick (B.F.) Skinner wrote his magnum opus, The Behavior of Organisms. Today, his perspective on behavior is the foundation for almost all behavioral fields that deal with non-verbal animals. Skinner is the creator of the term operant conditioning, or “learning by consequences.” Skinner’s primary desire was to create a science of behavior. He promoted the idea that scientific behavioral control would make the world a better place. The essence of his ideology was a non-punitive society that would control behavior through “reinforcement” – the strengthening of behavior through rewarding good behavior. (See: http://clickandtreat.com/wordpress/?p=44 for more about the “non-coercive society of B.F. Skinner) If you have noticed that scientists with an agenda often stray from the essence of science, you’d be correct. B.F. Skinner failed to create a science of behavior. Instead, he created an ideology that fails even cursory tests of scientific validity. You can skip any reference to veritas – truth for truth’s sake.
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Emperor Skinner’s New Clothes
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Have you ever considered that the absence of something can harm you? What if I upped the ante and included “something that hurts and/or scares you? What if I included “something that plainly causes physical damage.” Would you really know what I was talking about? If this line of reasoning seems totally bizarre I’ll give you some contexts to see what I’m driving at. 
er and “zapped” his dog. She yelped a little and walked slowly away from the puppy. If you had been watching this act, would you have considered it cruel or responsible? If your dog was about to attack an innocent puppy and your only means of control was an electric collar, what would you do?