Question

1. Suppose that you are asked to lead a workshop for parents on the use of punishment and reinforcement to manage child and adolescent behavior. What might you tell the parents regarding the appropriate and inappropriate use of punishment? Provide concrete examples to support your points. Suggest how parents might use punishment more effectively and how they might substitute reinforcement for punishment. Provide concrete examples to support your points.

Answer 1

There can be two types of punishment-:

1) positive/appropriate, 2) negative/inappropriate

1) positive/appropriate punishment - it is defined as the decreasing rate of any specific undesired behaviour from an individual and it reduces the chance of occurring that behaviour again in the future.

for example-: Suppose If a child hits his younger brother and his parents made him to write 100 times that "I will not hit my younger brother”. Then there is a chance that he will not repeat this behaviour again.

2) negative/inappropriate punishment - It is defined as the decreasing rate of desired behaviour from an individual which reduces the chance of occurring that behaviour again in the future.

for example -: Suppose a girl is not sharing her toy with her younger sister so to reduce the conflict her parents take away the toy from her.

appropriate punishment can be useful for children because if they are doing any bad behaviour and they get punishment for that (not very harsh) then they would probably not repeat this again but in inappropriate behaviour if they get very harsh punishment for that behaviour then the child may not repeat that again but it could have a bad effect on children like they may become very angry or become very frustrated it depends upon the situation.

but punishment is sometimes very useful and better than reinforcement. In reinforcement if a child is not doing his/her work then the parents give them some rewards for doing that work but here the question arises why should children be awarded for doing their own work or which they are supposed to do? We keep getting awards in our day to day life then why there is a need of awards? because of reinforcement children do not do their own work until or unless they get an award. punishment is better because it corrects the child at that moment only

So, parents can use punishment more effectively and also, they can substitute reinforcement for punishment.

There can be two types of punishment-:

1) positive/appropriate, 2) negative/inappropriate

1) positive/appropriate punishment - it is defined as the decreasing rate of any specific undesired behaviour from an individual and it reduces the chance of occurring that behaviour again in the future.

for example-: Suppose If a child hits his younger brother and his parents made him to write 100 times that "I will not hit my younger brother”. Then there is a chance that he will not repeat this behaviour again.

2) negative/inappropriate punishment - It is defined as the decreasing rate of desired behaviour from an individual which reduces the chance of occurring that behaviour again in the future.

for example -: Suppose a girl is not sharing her toy with her younger sister so to reduce the conflict her parents take away the toy from her.

appropriate punishment can be useful for children because if they are doing any bad behaviour and they get punishment for that (not very harsh) then they would probably not repeat this again but in inappropriate behaviour if they get very harsh punishment for that behaviour then the child may not repeat that again but it could have a bad effect on children like they may become very angry or become very frustrated it depends upon the situation.

but punishment is sometimes very useful and better than reinforcement. In reinforcement if a child is not doing his/her work then the parents give them some rewards for doing that work but here the question arises why should children be awarded for doing their own work or which they are supposed to do? We keep getting awards in our day to day life then why there is a need of awards? because of reinforcement children do not do their own work until or unless they get an award. punishment is better because it corrects the child at that moment only

So, parents can use punishment more effectively and also, they can substitute reinforcement for punishment.