- Highly recommended by BF Skinner
- Amazon Bestseller since 1984
- Publisher's Weekly Recommendation
- Don't Shoot the Dog (Revised Edition Complete Translation)
- A classic in the field of behavioral education that has led to the popularization of behavioral science since its publication in 1984.
- Training Methods of Successful People
- Scientific learning principles hidden in behavioral psychology
- A new behavioral training method for those who dislike coercive methods.
- Published in translations in over 10 countries, including Germany, Spain, France, Italy, China, and Japan.
The 'Bible' of Education Using Positive Reinforcement

How to Change Behavior in a Way That Makes Both Learners and Teachers Feel Good

This book teaches you how to “teach pleasant behavior” to everything from animals to people and even yourself.
It contains the secrets of enjoyable teaching methods that can be applied in a variety of situations, such as how to get the cat off the kitchen counter, how to stop your parents from nagging, how to positively influence the behavior of pets, children, students, friends, and bosses, how to improve your tennis or golf posture, or how to improve your math skills and memory.
The answer to all of this lies in the principle of 'positive reinforcement'.
In particular, utilizing this principle makes it possible to quickly and enjoyably improve learning and skills, such as memorizing English words, correcting sports posture, and improving memory.
The Law of Reinforcement is simple yet effective, and you can understand the basic principles in just 10 minutes.


Karen Pryor has published a practical book that systematically organizes reinforcement theory so that it can be applied to everyday life.
"The Knot of Teaching" is a classic in behavioral psychology that has been consistently loved since its first publication in 1984. It presents a scientific yet humane approach to changing behavior without coercion or punishment.
Positive reinforcement is a method of promoting change and growth without conflict by linking behavior to desired outcomes through rewards.
From pet training to improving parent-child relationships to coaching team members, readers will gain practical tools for behavior change through a variety of case studies and practical methods.
"The Teaching Knot" is a revolutionary guide to behavioral change for educators, parents, supervisors, managers, and everyone else, empowering them to understand and grow with one another.

Let's say we want someone—a child, a parent, a lover—to call us more often.
First of all, if the person doesn't call at all, there's not much we can do.
Because you can't reinforce a behavior that hasn't happened.
This is the main point of reinforcement training.
On the other hand, if we are always happy when our loved ones call, this behavior becomes positive reinforcement, making it more likely that they will call us in the future.
Conversely, negative reinforcement can also be used.
"Why didn't you call me? Do I always have to call first? You never call me!" If you irritate someone with words like these, they'll be more likely to stop calling to avoid hearing that unpleasant comment.
In other words, they are teaching the other person not to call them.
--- p.23

Because reinforcement is given according to a fixed schedule, employees are naturally motivated to do just enough to keep their jobs, regardless of the quality of their performance, and this can lead to lower performance levels, especially during the early part of the workday.
It's the same reason why receiving a weekly salary every Friday causes Monday blues.
--- p.58

It's truly appalling that so many of the teaching, coaching, training, and treatment methods we use on students, trainees, soldiers, patients, and employees are not scientifically proven, but are simply the way they've always been done or the way everyone else does it.
--- p.63

A well-planned behavioral shaping program minimizes the amount of practice required and makes every single practice valuable, so progress is dramatically accelerated.
Ultimately, we want to empower ourselves and those we teach to achieve not only consistent performance but also peak performance in sports, music, and other creative pursuits.
--- p.76

A variable reinforcement schedule means that sometimes you reinforce and sometimes you don't.
When teaching a new behavior, a fixed schedule of reinforcement is usually used.
That is, every time an appropriate behavior is shown, it is reinforced.
However, when you want to maintain a behavior that has already been established, reinforcement is provided sporadically or intermittently, only occasionally.
--- p.84

However, when we learn using aversive stimuli such as punishment, blame, or reprimand, we are often taught that it is important to correct mistakes or misbehavior whenever they occur.
--- p.84

There are two pitfalls.
One is that mistakes are more noticeable than improvements.
So, linguistic animals like us tend to complain rather than reinforce when our expectations are not met.
Then, all your efforts so far may go down the drain.
Another pitfall is that when you're planning to shape someone's behavior, it's tempting to tell them what it is.
But the moment you talk about it, you can ruin the education.
--- p.118

Wise parents never boast about the wonderful things they did to raise their children.
First of all, we all know that parenting is never over, and children deserve recognition for surviving all the training mistakes we've made.
--- p.
119

If our children procrastinate and don't come when we call them, our stimulus control isn't very good.
If you have to re-direct or check your employees' work two, three, or sometimes even three or four times before they finish it properly, this too is a problem with your stimulus control.
“If I say it one more time, it will probably be the thousandth time.
Have you ever said, "Please don't slam the door!" or "I told you not to leave your wet swimsuit on the couch!"? If saying it once or a thousand times doesn't work, it means the behavior isn't under stimulus control.
--- p.
126

Whenever someone tries to exercise authority, the other person is likely to get into trouble for "disobedience," but the truth of this all-too-common conflict is not a question of authority versus disobedience, but rather a question of not understanding instructions or being unable to follow signals.
In other words, it is due to miscommunication or poor stimulus control.
--- p.127

The so-called 'discipline leader' is not someone who demands perfection and punishes those who don't, but rather someone who rewards improvement in the right direction and brings out perfection.
So, people who try to establish 'discipline' often say, "Do as I say.
Otherwise, he tries to gain stimulus control by saying, “If not…”
However, the learner must misbehave or disobey to find out what “otherwise…” means, and once they do, it is too late to undo what has already been done.
In this respect, a discipline-centered approach is really ineffective.
--- p.
165

Learning how to exercise stimulus control without fuss or coercion makes life much more peaceful for both trainer and trainee.
They don't get upset easily when they get a bad reaction.
Don't nag, scold, whine, coerce, plead, or threaten to get what you want.
Because there is no need to do that.
--- p.
167

A child who struggles not to please his parents but to temporarily interrupt their chronic disapproval may grow up to be timid, self-doubting, and insecure.
One phobia specialist psychotherapist once said that people who have irrational and excessive phobias, such as those in crowds or elevators, often grew up receiving negative reinforcement on a regular basis as children.
--- p.189

We can easily become fixated on the harsh words we exchange, often without even realizing that we are reinforcing them.
We are not just angry.
Think of your husband who always comes home in a bad mood.
The more eccentric the husband is, the faster the wife tries to appease him.
What is my wife really strengthening? It's her eccentricity.

--- p.199

One of the central tenets of learning theory is that when a behavior is placed under stimulus control—that is, when an organism learns to behave in response to some kind of cue—that behavior tends to disappear in the absence of the cue.
We can use this natural law to eliminate all kinds of unwanted behavior.
Just keep it under the control of the signal and don't present the signal.
--- p.208

Training subjects enjoy learning with reinforcement learning not because they get food or other rewards, but because they actually have some control over what is happening.
Another reason people enjoy modifying others' behavior through reinforcement is that the response is very satisfying.
Seeing animals come to life, children's eyes light up, and people grow and shine with your help is a powerful reinforcement in itself.
It's about being completely captivated by the experience that leads to good results.
--- p.253

For the trainee, the trainer is a source of fun, interest, rewards, and events that enhance the quality of daily life, and for the trainer, the trainee's responses are interesting and rewarding, leading to a genuine attachment to each other.
Not dependence, but attachment! Perhaps it's camaraderie in the battle of life? Even in human interactions, the appropriate use of positive reinforcement can yield significant results.
Positive reinforcement creates and strengthens family relationships, fosters friendships, empowers children, and ultimately teaches them to become imaginative and skilled reinforcers.
Positive reinforcement also contributes to great romantic relationships, because ultimately, relationships are built in part on the reciprocal exchange of positive reinforcers.
--- p.254

“I once managed hospital staff through direction and correction.
Now I use behavior shaping and reinforcement.
“After that, our turnover rate dropped to zero,” he said. “This was good for our dog, but of course, it was good for me too.
“It changed the way I treat everyone in my life.”
--- p.278

Parents are learning to shape appropriate behaviors instead of unintentionally reinforcing inappropriate ones.
For example, reinforce quietness rather than noise, and reinforce play rather than irritation.
The common aggressive stereotype that “treating your children like animals” is wrong.
Clicker training is not about whether the target is an animal or a person.
It's about better teaching and education methods.

--- p.279