Chapter 15: Punishment ⚡
Punishment ⚡
- Used for centuries to teach and stop behaviors
- Skinner studied Schedules of Punishment to prevent unwanted actions
Schedules of Punishment 🐀
- Rat presses bar → mild shock ⚡ → presses less
- Mild shock loses effect → rat persists
- Intense shock → stops bar pressing
- Intense but inconsistent → does not stop
- Intense + consistent → stops pressing
Generalization of Punishment 🌱
- Punishment affects other activities too
- Example: child punished in math → science, English, social studies ↓
- Only consistent + severe punishment works
- Humans: consistent intense punishment often impractical or immoral ❌
Punishment as Reinforcement 🎯
- Sometimes punishment increases behavior
- Example: child wants attention → slapped → attention received → behavior ↑
Effective Alternative ✅
- Reward good behavior frequently
- Ignore minor unwanted behaviors
- Encouragement → bad behavior disappears
Implications for Violence ⚔️
- Physical punishment ↓ self-esteem, motivation, emotions
- Children imitate adults → aggression spreads
- Punishment stops behavior temporarily but may increase aggression
- Pairing punishment with criticism, name-calling, verbal abuse → fear, distrust
- Effects short-term; does not teach future proper behavior
Built-up Rage 🔥
- Punished child → emotional turmoil, resentment, revenge fantasies
- Behavior stops only in adult’s presence; continues when absent
- Child may substitute aggression (e.g., verbal abuse)
- Frequent punishment → withdrawal, regression, fear, lying, sneakiness, low self-esteem
- Child may strike back or displace anger → chain of violence
- Threats not carried out → excessive fear or distrust
- Research: sexual abusers often have history of physical punishment (not always sexual abuse)
Problems with Behaviorism ⚖️
- Humans more than animals: interaction, religion, language
- Ignored language: expressing feelings, abstract, moral/religious ideas
- Ignored memory & cognition: focused only on outward behavior
- Animals show violence naturally; some humans live without violence → evolved
- Behaviorism helped psychology, education, forensic psychology but limited for spiritual/human level 🌟
| Key Concepts | Highlights |
|---|---|
| Punishment | Schedules: mild/inconsistent ineffective; intense/consistent works but impractical |
| Generalization & Reinforcement | Affects other behaviors; can inadvertently reinforce unwanted actions |
| Implications for Violence | Lowers self-esteem, spreads aggression, builds rage; short-term effects |
| Problems with Behaviorism | Ignores language, cognition, spirituality; limited for human complexity |