A Debate: Punishment is a Sustained Form of Modifying Behavior

One idea, I agree with, from Chapter Three discussed how punishment hinders ethical development. Before students act out or do something bad, they think about what consequences they might face for such actions. This “suggests a disturbingly primitive level of moral development, yet it is our use of punishment that causes kids to get stuck there” (p. 29). I could not agree more with this sentence. I remember as a child thinking about doing something bad and the consequences that might result. I remember how I typically would do the “bad” thing because either I would not get caught or I could take the consequences. However, the book suggests getting children to think about the consequences of their misbehaviors is not effective and does not instill better values or awareness of others’ needs. Because of this, we as educators must

On the contrary, negative punishment is a method that also contributes to weakening a behavior though it lessens or eliminates something pleasant. It involves taking away something desirable or good from an individual in order to discourage him/her from engaging in a particular behavior. For instance, one of my classmate’s phone rang in class despite being told by teachers not to bring our phones to class. Consequently, the teacher took away the phone from my classmate in order to discourage that behavior. The ethical concern that may emerge from using negative punishment is that it does not teach the victim of undesired behavior how to change his/her behavior.

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Physical punishment should not be used to modify the negative behavior of children because it is momentarily effective. Children will not learn from the agression and may become confused by the parents action. Physical punishment can be seen as harsh and unethical. Operant conditioning can be used to stop tantrums because at the moment the child gets what they want the behavior is positively reinforced by the parent but not punished. However the child’s tantrums will continue to occur.

Punishment has occurred when a response is followed immediately by a stimulus change to decrease the future frequency of the behavior. Positive punishment aids in the decrease in the problem behavior. Reprimand is one of the most common forms of positive punishments. A firm "No" or "Stop" delivered immediately on the occurrence of an undesirable behavior will significantly reduce the chance of the behavior being repeated in the future.

Child discipline is an important part of parenthood. It is challenging for adults to manage children’s behaviors and find the correct lessons that will benefit their children. According to the research performed by Flynn (1998), most parents in the United States agree that "it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking" (p.26). Socolar et al. performed research which agreed that “corporal punishment of children persists—roughly fifty percent of the parents of toddlers in the United States use corporal punishment as a regular method of disciplining their children.” (as cited in Gershoff, 2010, p.32). That is not to say that physical punishment is the solution as it can stop a behavior immediately but the results

“Randie, I’m going to put you in time out if you don’t do your homework!” As children, most of us are accustomed to hearing this kind of negative reinforcement from our parents; it is how we are disciplined. Although Bruno Bettelheim asserts in “Art, Social Action & the Preparation of Democratic Citizens” that punishment is an ineffective method of discipline, it is nonetheless the most common (53). The chapter states: “Punishment teaches a child that those who have power can force others to do their will” 51. Because the parent has used verbal or physical punishment to force the child into doing their will, it is understandable that a child would internalize this idea and use it himself to control the actions of others.

In “Bodega Dreams” one can see how Mr. Blessington goes from verbally abusive to eventually become physically abusive later on. His students didn’t like or respect him; they hated and feared him. In a study published in the Contemporary Issues in Education Research titled "Comparison of The Frequency and Effectiveness of Positive and Negative Reinforcement Practices in Schools," it explores these questions. They bring up a point made by P. Methuen who said: "Spare the rod, spoil the child" (qt. in Dad et al). This study suggests that to not use negative reinforcements to drive a child in the right direction would spoil that child. In contrast to that, A.E. Woolfolk, a psychologist who specialized in child education as a professor at the Ohio State University at the time of publication, says that “punishment is, at

Many studies have shown strictly punitive forms of discipline are counter-productive. Lee asserted that research shows that troubled students are showing pain-based behavior and inflicting more pain with punishment makes the students resentful (2013). Implementation of a PBSS “advances beyond punitive, reactive responses to undesired behaviors by employing an applied method of teaching, positively reinforcing, and continually expanding an individual's behavioral repertoire.” (Caldarella et al., 2011). Behavioral matrices are integral components of a successful PBSS. My experience with the creation of such a matrix provided me with some insight. I realized the benefits of creating uniform expectations and responses. I also realized

When it comes to inspiring behavioral changes positive reinforcement is more effective than punishment in terms of changing the behavior in the long term. How effectively positive reinforcement affects behavioral changes is closely tied to how behavioral changes are incentivized and rewards bestowed. The case is similar for the application of negative reinforcement. However, rewards and punishments must significantly affect a person’s current situation--for better or worse--in order to inspire change. Let’s look at how positive reinforcement typically results in long-term behavioral change more effectively than punishment overall.

An adult who practices punishment, controls a child externally. This communicates to a child that they are not able to control themselves, thus have no responsibility for their actions. Also, it can create in the child’s mind, the idea that they can commit a behavior so long as they do not get caught or are willing to accept the consequences. Behavior that is modified with punishment does not evolve from the understanding of what is expected in a society, but rather from fear. Since no understanding was obtained this will not

Children are going to continue to make mistakes, but they will learn from them just like adults do. So why would we punish them for it? When positive guiding children we can help them see and understand consequences from the choices they make. By using punishment instead of positive discipline can cause possible side effects, such as blocking open communications, punishment represses behaviour, but doesn’t deal with the behaviour, models a negative use of power, and to have continue effect it must escalate in order to remain it’s effectiveness. Using punishment as discipline will create a negative relationship between educator/parent and child. This could lead the child to have negative thoughts about themselves creating a low self-esteem.

From a very early age, children begin to learn about the association between behaviors and consequences. They realize that there is always going to be a consequence whether it’d be positive or negative, that would follow the behavior. Sometimes children behave very well and most of the time, children tend to give parents and others around them a hard time. When it comes to behavior modification, some basic steps include identifying the behavior, setting expectations, monitoring progress, and reinforcing correct behaviors. Positive reinforcement has a lot of effect on children when it comes to modifying a targeted behavior. A reinforcer,

     An alternative to punishment is trying to change the behavior of others. First, stop reinforcing the problem behavior by identifying the reinforcer and eliminating it. When it is not possible to eliminate the reinforcement, remove the opportunity to obtain positive reinforcement. An example of this would be time-out for a child because he or she is no longer

Children are like flowers, if well taken care of they will bloom. If ignored or tortured, they will wither and die. Child discipline is one of the most important elements of successful parenting. Today, many people have this notion that physical abuse is in no way a solution to helping children discern between right and wrong. Since generations children have been taught the art of discipline through physical punishment. Often this approach to disciplining has resulted in two outcomes, one is where the child becomes more tolerant and is willing to adhere to what he/she has been told, or the other which more often results in children developing a sense of anguish and desire to revolt.