As a child learns to talk, he or she brings the behavior of other people under his or her control. Acquiring additional social skills further extends the range of control, for we are reinforced by reducing the number of unexpected aversive events. The process never ends. The institutions that make civilization possible, as well as the scientific method are further steps along the pathway that the infant sets out to explore. Those consequences shape all of the behavior that increases our control of the environment.
Control is the behavioral obverse of the coin of reinforcement.
By controlling nature, one maximizes reinforcement and minimizes pain. Whoever fails to achieve such control does not survive. Life is like being carried down a swiftly flowing stream. One either keeps one's head above the water or drowns. A natural response is to grab hold of anything that offers a chance to stay afloat.