The Effects of Punishment -- and Other Influential Stimuli -- On Behavior (By Yours Truly)

The Effects of Punishment -- and Other Influential Stimuli -- On Behavior 

    Punishment decreases an undesired behavior. There are two kinds of punishment: positive and negative punishment. Positive punishment is -- according to the Exploring Psychology: Sixth Edition in Modules by David G. Myers -- the “administer[ing of] an aversive stimulus” (265) Whereas negative punishment would be the opposite: withdrawal of a desired stimulus. Although punishment is a significantly effective tool in changing one's behavior, there are other ways to influence and correct a behavior using devices such as modeling, classical conditioning, and reinforcements.

    Modeling has quite the influence on behavior -- especially in children. By using negative punishment such as spanking and screaming, children will demonstrate these behaviors in other situations where he/she is confronted with someones else behavior he/she finds to be undesirable. In a study observing aggressive behaviors in children published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology: Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models  (1961) --republished in Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research Seventh Edition by Roger R. Hock -- Bandura observed that “children who were exposed to...violent models tended to imitate the exact violent behaviors the observed.” (89) In lamens terms, by spanking a child as punishment for something he/she did that is wrong/inadequate, the parent/guardian is modeling aggressive behavior that should be accepted as a form of communicating ones dissatisfaction. This, as many people believe, is not socially acceptable -- to teach ones child that hitting is acceptable and screaming as a form of communication when you’re mad is okay. By demonstrating aggressive behavior, one introduces his/her child to imitative learning -- teaching them to be aggressive -- and allows said child to transition said behaviors to other settings such as school, the playground, or other social settings. Also, it is important to note that in this study, neither the model of aggression or non aggression were rewarded, nor were the children when observed for behavioral changed.

    Of course, the other way to change one's behavior is through reinforcements. Reinforcements are devices that are used to encourage or discourage ones behavior. Positive reinforcements are typically used to increase a valued or desired behavior by administering a reward to the subject in question. These rewards can be either Primary reinforcements of negative reinforcements. Primary reinforcements are stimuli that the subject already enjoys such as food, praise, money, etc. Negative reinforcements are stimuli that the subject would have to ‘learn’ to enjoy, for example, taking off ones shoes when in pain, reading a personally chosen book after completion of an assigned reading task. Although most reinforcements are positive stimuli, one could presume that negative stimuli would have similar effects in increasing or decreasing a behavior.

    SImilarly, Pavlov and Watson both has done studies -- also published in Forty Studies (Pavlov 65) and (Watson 72) -- on classically conditioned behaviors and responses. Pavlov pioneered the study of behavior and classical conditioning, paving the way for Watson to demonstrate the role conditioning has in behaviors. To summarize, Watson studied the conditioning of irrational fears in an infant (Albert was 11 months old when the conditioning began). Although applying current ethics laws this study was completely unethical and wrong, Watson discovered many things through his study with Little Albert such as the formation of phobias and sexual fetishes. By implementing a fear-inducing stimuli in the presence of an object previously neutral, one can create a conditioned response of fear to said object. This type of conditioning could be useful in changing a child's undesired behavior by administering a stimuli that is undesirable to the child such as a loud noise, a slight shock or feeling of pain, etc. Although spanking would be considered by many to be an aversive undesirable stimuli to most children, some have completed the extinction phase of conditioning: when one loses the conditioned response due to lack of experiencing the conditioned stimuli causing the conditioned response.

    Not only in children does one find undesirable behavior, but also in adults. No matter how one ethically views spanking, rewards, or conditioning, changing aversive behavior is important to maintaining a safe social environment. In the larger scheme of life, a combination of punishment, negative and positive reinforcement, followed by some behavioral conditioning, would logically maximize the desired behavior and, by reason, decrease the undesired or aversive behavior.