Thursday, March 15, 2012

Punishment



In Extinction, a particular behaviour is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing a positive condition or stopping a negative condition. For example, a rat presses the lever in its cage and nothing happens. Neither a positive or a negative condition exists for the rat. The rat presses the lever again and again nothing happens. The rat's behaviour of pressing the lever is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing anything positive or stopping anything negative.

In Punishment, a particular behaviour is weakened by the consequence of experiencing a negative condition. For example, a rat presses the lever in its cage and receives a mild electrical shock on its feet. The shock is a negative condition for the rat. The rat presses the lever again and again receives a shock. The rat's behaviour of pressing the lever is weakened by the consequence of receiving a shock.

Positive punishment
Skinner defined punishment as the opposite of reinforcement. Therefore, punishment is any operation that decreases the rate of response. For example, when the rat presses the lever, shock is presented. This leads to a decrease in lever pressing, hence punishment has occurred. When shock or other painful consquences are applied to decrease behaviour, the consequence is referred to as positive punishment. It is called "positive" because the consequence involves presenting or applying a painful or shocking treatment. It is "punishment" because it is followed by a decrease in behaviour.

Negative Punishment
An alternative to positive punishment is negative punishment. An example of negative punishment might be to follow an undesirable behaviour with removal of a privilege. For example, a child who misbehaves has her favourite toy taken away for two days. As a result she does not misbehave as often. This procedure is " negative" because something is removed or taken away (a toy or privilege). It is still a form of punishment because it results in a decrease of the unwanted behaviour.

Issues in the Use of Punishment
In child-rearing, punishment contingencies are often used. Parents identify a behaviour they wish to decrease. The contingency might be: if the child engages in the behaviour, the child will receive a spanking. Or, if the child engages in the behaviour, the child must go to bed early.

Skinner was a strong advocate for the use of reinforcement rather than punishment. He thought that reinforcement led to stronger control of behaviour than did punishment. Another reason was concern that, although punishment does eliminate unwanted behaviour, it cannot in itself teach or encourage alternative behaviours. Finally, repeated use of punishment has been found to make subjects behave in hostile or helpless ways.

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