Rewards are certainly better and positive incentives to learning. They are responsible for initiative, energy, competition self expression and creative ability. According to the law of effect rewards is satisfying and pleasant. Thus reward strengthen learning, rewards may in the form of gifts, prizes, money, badges, cups, certificate of merit or other objects of some value. But when these rewards are too much strived for they degenerate whole learning.
Punishment can be understood as an act of inflicting pain deliberately with the purpose of affecting the future conduct of an individual being punished. Punishment is based on fear of physical pain, embarrassment and loss of status. Thus punishment, or fear of being punished is one of the common and obvious methods of keeping under control and guiding the students. Punishment or fear is a very strong stimuli, a negative incentive to learning especially where errors occur. Thorndike showed that generally punishment speeds up learning and reduces the number of errors as it produces emotional excitement which tends to fix at punishment response. But it does not mean that punishment under all the circumstances and with all the students is equally effective. For example it may prove disastrous and destructive when task is very difficult.
