People generally believe that punishment is a procedure that involves an aversive or harmful consequence. But punishment doesn’t have to be like that.
Punishment is used to reduce behavior. That is, a punishment is any consequence that reduces the frequency of a previous behavior, usually by administering an unwanted consequence or avoiding a desired one. Quick and sure punishers can effectively limit unwanted behavior.
An occasional punishment or two to a child who is between 2 and 6 years old seems to be an effective treatment. This is especially the case if punishment is accompanied by positive reasoning and attitude on the part of the parents and only if it is used as a support to increase the effectiveness of other disciplinary tactics.
Positive Punishment: Positive punishment works by administering a negative consequence unhealthily after a behavior occurs, making it less likely that the behavior will occur again in the future. Here an example:
- A student talks (behavior) and interrupts a class and the teacher scolds him (aversive stimulus) in front of his classmates.
Negative Punishment: Negative punishment consists of removing a stimulus after an unwanted behavior is exhibited. For example:
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- Some classmates fight over a toy car (behavior) and the teacher takes the toy away from them (desired stimulus) for fighting.
But as we said at the beginning, punishment does not inevitably mean violence. Furthermore, defenders of non-violent education maintain that physical punishment has strong disadvantages since the punished behavior is not extinguished but suppressed. This temporary effect can reinforce your parents’ behavior. But, what they have really achieved is that the child who swore no longer does it at home (because the parents are going to punish him), but in other places where they feel safe that they will not be punished. A driver who was ticketed several times can get ways to detect when he should be careful and when he can speed.
Additionally, physical punishment can increase aggression by showing that aggression is a way to solve problems. It can also create fear, towards the performance of the punished behavior and towards the person who punishes or the context in which it occurs. Even worse, when punishments are unpredictable and unavoidable, an individual may feel that things are beyond her control. And even in cases where punishment eliminates unwanted behavior, it does not mean that it leads to what is desired. This is because it tells us what not to do, but it does not tell us what to do. Therefore, punishment is usually more effective when combined with reinforcement.
It should be noted that behavioral research has shown that Positive Reinforcement is the most powerful strategy for obtaining desired behaviors in children. Positive reinforcement increases the probability of response and allows parents, educators, caregivers and children to focus on the positive aspects of the situation.
Many parents are unaware that desirable behaviors can be reinforced without shouting or hitting. Phrasing an order in a positive way will have equal force and will be even more effective than a threat of punishment.
Here we leave you some articles specially prepared to treat behavioral problems in children:
Fountain: Myers, D. (2006), Psychology 7th edition, Panamericana Medical Editorial: Madrid