Which is a more powerful tool?

Positive reinforcement or reward has been so well established as the most powerful means of influencing behavior that is has acquired the status of a law of nature. The Law of Effect as articulated by E. L. Thorndike (in 1911, no less) briefly states that a behavior that is followed by a positively valued consequence is more likely to be repeated than not. This has been so well established by countless replications that it has been relegated to a demonstration in introductory psychology classes.

Punishment or the fear of it has equally been shown NOT to eliminate behavior but merely to stifle it for short periods as long as the punisher is physically present. The old adage, "The mice will play while the cat's away" is also well established by empirical evidence.

If you want the cat to stop eating mice, give it something more fun to do while making sure that its well fed by other means. There's nothing in the "Handbook for Cats" that require them to eat mice, only that they have fun and eat some kind of nutritious food.

A practical employment of the Law of Effect has always been my advice to parents to "catch your kids being good by praising them when they are" rather than focusing on punishing them when caught being "bad". Now, for those adults who insist on characterizing this procedure as loathsome "bribery", I urge that they sternly reject any offer of merit pay increases by their supervisor and rebuke any compliment as a crass attempt at influence mongering. I wonder why they never follow that advice.

Fear why else would we need therapy for it. It can keep us from performing even a simple task like washing hand or fear of a child dieing can give a mother the strength to lift a car to safe them.

Everybody can gets rewards from just about anything now a days

Is this a trick question?

Why do you think "greater power over people" is the objective of all rules. Often they only care for the most expedient means and run rough shod over any creative approach to social problems. They know that they will be "wrong" no matter what they do, so why care wither they are nice or not?

Fear for weak hearts and Reward for weak pockets! Give them what they want! So both!

reward.

When you use fear the subject begins to detest and loathe the task at hand, and may never learn to deal with it under their own initiative.

edit; depends on your meaning of power, really.

If you merely mean power as in control, then yes, fear.

fear. Example is religion. They promise you both but when all is said and done people remember hell more than heaven.

reward

it's the only reason why mercenaries still exist, they did a lot of things.

dono