Reinforcement And Punishment On Children

In chapter six in the General Psychology course, we learned about “Learning”. We learned the types of conditions that help people learn. One of the conditions is “Operant Conditioning” where learning is controlled by the organism’s behavior. During the lecture one thing that stood out to me was that in the operant condition, there is a term called positive punishment which is used to decrease bad behavior. It is used usually by parents to discipline their children when they misbehave in order to break that bad habit.

B.F. Skinners theory of operant conditioning is probably the most commonly used theory in practice in early years settings. Skinner suggested that people draw conclusions based on the consequences of their behaviour when exploring the environment. He divided the consequences into three areas. The first area being positive reinforcers where people are likely to get something they desire if they repeat a certain behaviour. He suggested that this was the most effective way to encourage new learning. This can be seen in early years settings where by children are rewarded for good behaviour this lots of praise, attention, stickers or treats. This will help children to carry on showing good behaviour until such a time when it is learned. Second is negative reinforcers which are used to stop something from happening but the behaviour is also likely to repeated. Just like when a child is going down a slide but doesn’t like going fast so they use their hands on the sides to slow themselves down. The third is punishers, which is a behaviour that you learn to stop doing e.g. if you receive a shock from an electric fence then you learn to stay away from it.

Reinforcement that occurs directly because of the students actions. No one else is needed to get the reinforcement.

This paper will provide the behavioral definition of punishment and give examples of both positive and negative punishment in different types of settings. The guidelines for the effective use of punishment, as well as legal and ethical issues that should be considered by the Behavior Analyst while designing a behavior intervention plan are identified.

“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.

Children in early years may have trouble accepting to taste new food, through rewards parents can encourage children to try new food. Skinner believed children learnt behaviour through actions and consequences. McLeod (2007) defined Skinners approach to changing behaviour by the use of reinforcement. Positive reinforcement strengthen behaviour by rewarding individuals. Similarly to children’s eating behaviour, children may learn to accept food through rewards from parents to encourage children to try and be healthy. Children can be rewarded through verbal praise, given a present or rewarded with a sugary snack. Wardle and Cooke (2008) conducted a study of children receiving a sticker for eating a piece of red pepper, over the ten days children

Immediately he was taken away and isolated from the rest of the group. This has created an extra burden where a particular carer was now left to care for the child when a different approach would have better serve the child and the establishment from managing a risk assessment separately and costly (Appendix 5). Most children will defiantly feel that they are abandoned and that is not a better policy to maintain. It is important for parents, carers, teachers and early childhood practitioners know the difference between positive and negative discipline. Child theorist Smith explains that negative discipline, “focuses on obedience and the avoidance of punishment. Power assertive disciplinary methods involve the application of aversive consequences such as physical punishment, threats or withdrawal of privileges with little justification” (Smith, 2004). Operant behaviour an experiment which best explains both positive and negative reinforcement theory which was envisaged by behaviourist B.F. Skinner. The system has created what parents now know that a child responds to a condition of reward and punishment very well when is it imposed strictly on them, (Skinner B.F.,

The types of positive reinforcement I may provide will likely depend on what circumstances present themselves. They will also differ depending on which role I am in. Positive reinforcement I provide to my children may vary significantly in comparison to the positive reinforcement I provided to students while I was the In-school Intervention Specialist at the Holbrook Junior High or what I may provide as a juvenile probation officer.

In ancient Greece children were thought of more as material possessions rather than actual children. They had to be highly obedient or face strict and harsh punishments if they were not. Adults could do whatever they wished with their children as the children had no rights of their own. This led to child sexual abuse or even the killing of unwanted or undesirable children (Dunn, Craig 6). Children were also sold into servitude as they were thought to be like adults only smaller.

The reason "reinforcement" is used over "punishment" because "reinforcement" is the process by which a stimulus increases the probability that a positive behavior/outcome will occur instead of "punishment" which is a stimulus that deceases the probably of negative behavior/outcomes but it also does not guarantee that a positive behavior/outcome will occur . For example, a Teacher can give out candy to students who perform well on a test which is a positive reinforcement because if you reward the students for doing good on a test it will result in students repeating that behavior/outcome and might even encourage other students to do well on a

However a reinforcer might work more efficiently compared to a punisher as her students are in the stage of industry vs inferiority where, their main goal is to win the approval of the adults and gain a sense of accomplishment (Rosenthal, Gurney, & Moore, 1981). Reinforcers will also be able to form more positive schemas in their mental model, this is crucial in the concrete operational stage of their development as well. In this age group, the behaviours displayed in the classroom is one that is more aware of oneself ("CDC - Child Development, Middle Childhood (9-11 years old) - NCBDDD", 2017). This will play a role when peer pressure comes into the picture. As they are aware of their fellow classmates observing them, they are more cautious of what the say and what they choose to display ("CDC - Child Development, Middle Childhood (9-11 years old) - NCBDDD", 2017). This is because friendships game more importance in that age group. They want to be accepted and not make a fool out of themselves ("CDC - Child Development, Middle Childhood (9-11 years old) - NCBDDD",

An experiment within four cities: Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Washington D.C.; and New York City has shown that paying students for performing behaviors related to learning increases achievement, but when payments were awarded for higher test scores, achievement was not increased by any measurable degree. “Providing incentives for achievement-test scores has no effect on any form

Classroom reward systems provide teachers and students with guidelines to follow when dealing with behaviour. Every school has some form of behaviour management in place to deal with both good and bad behaviours and children with special needs who often need structure, planning and daily goals. Integrating technology into classroom reward systems, rewarding good behaviour, hard work or improvement, can have a positive impact on students, as Merrett, A., and Merrett, L. (2013) described, due to the materials being more stimulating and more interactive than other methods commonly used. Also digital rewards systems are easier for educators to edit and tailor to students or classrooms, individual needs, abilities and/or year group.

One of the simplest and most commonly-used methods of conceptualizing learning is that of reinforcement theory (Noe 2010: 142). Every time a parent promises a child a toy for being good during a grocery store trip or threatens a teen with being grounded for bad grades, he or she is using reinforcement theory. Reinforcement theory is based upon the assumption that people want to experience as much pleasure as possible and avoid pain. Thus, businesses offer workers bonuses for good work, and issue reprimands (such as docking pay or denying a promotion) for poor behavior.

For the past five weeks, I have embarked on a journey to change a habit that has stuck with me my whole life. The behavior modification project was something that took insane amounts of self discipline and restraint. But amidst all of the trials, I managed to accomplish the goal I had set out for myself. To begin, we had to choose our habit. This part alone took a lot of self searching to find something that I had the motivation to change. So, the habit I chose was biting my nails. I have been biting my nails for as long as I can remember. It got to the point where I would bite them down so far that they would begin to bleed and get infected. As I grew up, my habits lessened a bit, but it was still a habit that seemed impossible to change… until now. After choosing my topic, I laid out my rewards and punishments. Considering how busy I am, I knew from the beginning that it was going to be difficult to follow through with both reward and punishment. However, I tried my best to follow through with any punishment regardless on if I had the time to carry out my rewards. I planned out my contract complete with a chart to map out my progress each day. Then, the hard part arrived, the actual work. Week one was definitely the hardest week to stick to my goal. The goal for that week was to only bite my nails every other day. Therefore, I was only allotted a grand total of 4 days to indulge in my habits. This was extremely difficult, but I managed to accomplish my goal. But even from