On a personal level, I have tried to condition myself with negative behavior by trying to encourage myself to lose weight by posting an unflattering picture of myself on the refrigerator, to discourage in-between meal snacking. I have to admit that this was initially motivational for me, given that the vision was so unpleasant. However, to condition one's own behavior through negative reinforcement requires a great deal of zeal for such self-punishment. Eventually, I grew tired of looking at the picture and simply removed it. I was similarly unsuccessful in attempting to de-condition myself from selecting unhealthy foods from the cafeteria by putting a photograph of myself at a higher weight in my wallet and forcing myself to look at it before I ate.

The most serious experience I ever had, however, with the difficulties of using negative reinforcement occurred during one of my most difficult trials as a soldier....
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