In George Orwell's novel 1984, he addressed many key aspects of perspective and motivations that we see every day. These motivations, positive and negative, are very controversial in the aspect of how effective that they are. Winston was given many different positive and negative motivations throughout the novel but positive motivations were the most effective in Winston's story.
Toward the end of Winston's journey, he was put into jail for thought crime. He was exposed to both positive and negative reinforcement but positive reinforcement was better for him. When he was being interrogated by O'Brien, He used negative reinforcement. Although this was effective, it created some instability for Winston. The whole purpose of putting him into prison was to make him more loyal to Big Brother. Winston had connected O'Brien to Big Brother and this was very bad for what O'Brien was trying to do. If O'Brien had used positive reinforcement, he would have made Winston's connection of Big Brother to good things stronger.
Winston's recovery in prison was a product of positive reinforcement. If he told O'Brien and the Party the truth, they fed him and gave him other amenities in his cell. With these good incentives, Winston acted more compliant. His health came back to him, day after day, as they fed him and allowed him a bed. Some may think that if he regained his strength, then he would resist the beliefs and ways of the Party even more but this is not true. If they had used negative reinforcement on him, he would become insane because of the artificial lighting and the lack of food that Winston received. If Winston was insane, he will be of no use to the party depending on the severity of his insanity.
When I was younger, my mother used to assign me chores for the week. Whenever I completed a chore, there was a small prize or treat that she gave me. This was great because as my sweet tooth got accustomed to the intake of sweets, I naturally craved more.
