

They’ll just feel like they’re under attack, and their natural reaction will be to dig in and fight back. Thus the person you criticize won’t truly listen to what you’re saying. The same is true of people: criticizing them won’t encourage them to change their behavior because they’re not primarily driven by reason but by emotion. Skinner had discovered a long time ago: animals rewarded for good behavior will learn more effectively than those punished for bad behavior. The reason for Hoover’s benevolence was perhaps that he knew something that psychologist B.F. In fact, Hoover said that to demonstrate his faith in the mechanic having learned his lesson, he’d like the same mechanic to service his plane the next day.


So did Hoover yell at him? Scold him? Criticize him? The young man was in tears, knowing how furious Hoover must be over the loss of his expensive airplane and the danger posed to the three people on board. The reason for the harrowing engine failure was that the World War Two propeller plane had been accidentally filled with jet fuel.īack at the airport, Hoover saw the mechanic who had made the mistake. Unfortunately, the aircraft was badly damaged. Through some impressive flying he was able to land the plane, saving those on board. Famous airplane test pilot Bob Hoover was flying back from an air show in San Diego when all of sudden both of his engines cut out.
