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CHAPTER 5Who's the Pigeon Now?

As a kid, I had a beagle named Buffy. She was the nicest dog and served as a companion to a five‐year‐old who offered her little, if any, personal space. During our time together, I taught her a variety of tricks as I figured out pretty early on that I had the power, through all kinds of puppy snacks, to make her do things that she otherwise would not do. I taught her all of the standard tricks, including fetching different things and barking upon request. She would also go to bed on verbal command and shake hands upon request. With enough time and Italian sausages, I probably could have taught that dog to write a master's thesis! Humans are similar in many ways. Although not everyone writes a master's thesis (or is even willing to shake hands), we are all motivated by rewards of one form or another. They can be as basic as homeostatic (food and water) and reproductive (sex). Other rewards are intrinsic, meaning they are unconditioned and done for the pleasure of themselves. This could be taking a class for the pure enjoyment of learning, or playing basketball with a group of neighborhood kids. There is no tangible prize or payoff. You just do it for the joy of doing it. Extrinsic rewards are tangible and are usually conditioned, and more often than not they are related to money. We go to work and are motivated – sometimes primarily, sometimes entirely – by the money we receive in compensation for our time and effort. We can also be motivated ...