Please read section 2.3.
After reading the section, think of all the terms and concepts used in all of sections (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3) please respond to the following questions and try to use these terms and concepts as you respond to the following questions.
What did you like about the section? How does it relate to the sections you have covered so far? What are three things you will remember from these section? What if anything would you like me to be sure and go over in class when we meet?
Include a list of the terms and concepts you used in your post. (example - Terms: positive reinforcer, extinction, reinforcer, discriminative stimulus...)
One thing I enjoyed about this section was that the examples had to do with our opinions on some of the concepts. Asking what our view was on punishments was a good way to get us to think outside of the box as well as apply all the things we’ve learned into solving real world questions.
Many of the techniques mentioned, such as the views of B.F skinner that reinforcement is preferable before punishment is, helped give us more insight into the use of punishment. Also, it applied what we have learned to hard real world questions on topics like that of the death penalty and the use of torture in our country. This made me look at the use of punishment and ask myself "is this ethically right?"
First, I will remember the difference between both positive punishment, adding of an aversive stimulus, in comparison to a negative punishment, which involves the removal of a pleasurable stimulus. These forms of punishment are related to us by examples like parking tickets and how they can positively punish us. Second, I will recall thinking on the question of if there could be a community that had no punishment. Sadly, I feel that punishment will always be around, and in large part because some crimes are too severe. For example, if a man killed someone, it would be somewhat pointless for us to act as though this didn’t occur, and then reinforce the person later when they didn’t kill someone. I realize this example is somewhat obvious, but you get my point. Lastly, I enjoyed the section that talked about disrupting operant behaviors. Sometimes, the text suggested, that we should just disrupt the behavior from happening because it involves, typically, a less emotional response from what is happening. Sometimes certain behaviors just need to be stopped and interrupted like a child being stopped from screaming, and instead sent up to their room. This disrupts the behavior.
Terms used: positive punishment, negative punishment, punishment, stimulus, aversive, pleasurable, disrupting operant behavior
This section forces me to really think about how punishment is used in our society. It can be used in intimiate setting like a mom punishing a child, or in many cases as a cultural aspect of punishment such as getting tickets from law enforcement for bad behavior. The section takes to idea of punishment which we learned about in chapter 1 and really breaks it down into different contexts which punishment can be used such as postive, negative, aversive, and the immediacy in which punishment often occurs.
One specific thing I will take from this chapter and be sure to remember and use with me in not only in class but in everyday life is the idea of effectiveness of punishment. Sometimes punishment can be quite effective in modifying behaviors. An example of this is when most people follow traffic laws because the fear of being punished if they break them. But in another sense punishment can be ineffective like if an employer doesnt give out raises to anyone in the company because of the mistakes of a few workers. This may cause people to decrease their productivity or even quit.
Another important aspect of the chapter was the discussion about the immediacy of punishment. It is crucial that a punishment is implimented immediately after the bad behavior. If a child is punished for hitting their sibling an entire day after the act the effect will not be as strong on the child because the behavior is not as prominent at that tiime. It is important to also consider frequency when talking about immediacy, because bad behavior needs to be punished only when the punishment will actually change the behavior.
The final thing I will be taking with me after reading this section of chapter 2 is the cultural differences in punishment. I have done internships in other countries and around the U.S. and it is important to consider that not all cultures punish behavior in the same way. An example of this is in some Texas schools it is okay for the teachers to use a paddle on students with consent of the parents. This in Iowa schools however would be considered extremely inappropriate and the teacher would most likely end up being punished by law.
What I liked about this section was how you discussed the importance of using punishment the right way. Most people think that punishment is the right thing to do when a child misbehaves but it’s not. I wish more people realized that because I think children would grow up to be happier and better behaved. It relates to the previous sections because it discusses punishment and we’ve talked about punishment throughout the course thus far. We also talked about target behaviors which has also been a repeated topic and an important one.
One thing I’ll remember is how punishment must be used in the right way; otherwise it either won’t work or will create a highly aversive situation. I’ll also remember how if a person is going to use punishment, they have to do it continuously or it won’t do its job. I didn’t realize how many examples there are of things that I’ve continued to do because I wasn’t repeatedly punished. Another thing that I’ll remember is it’s effective to disrupt operant behavior rather than punish it.
Terms: punishment, aversive, behavior, operant
I liked the information that was talked about in this section. I have never been a huge fan of punishment and I’d rather not do it myself. This section somewhat focused on the fact that punishment can be used but in moderation and there are some things that can go too far. It related to the other sections by being consistent by bringing up terms previously used and applied them in the context of punishment. This was helpful because we have been focusing a lot of attention on reinforcement recently and I was beginning to just identify these terms with reinforcement procedures.
The three things I’ll remember are the ideas of punishment in different cultures, disruption of the operant behavior, and the question of a world without punishment. I think I’ll remember these most because they are newer ideas, but I can relate and apply them to things in my life. I have heard of Skinner’s ‘world without punishment’ proposition before and found it interesting, but do not exactly think it could be possible. Sometimes, like the reading said, reinforcement can be time consuming and you need the aversive behaviors to stop sooner rather than later. Situations that call for immediate actions usually seem to require punishment or some type of aversive interaction to stop a person or animal from eliciting a certain behavior.
I do not think there are any specific things I would like to cover in class from this reading. Maybe a general overview and review of it would be helpful, just to reinforce myself that I am understanding things correctly.
Terms Used: punishment,reinforcement, operant behavior, aversive, eliciting
I really liked how this section gave both sides, as in pros and cons, of punishment. I have always believed that reinforcement in most instances is the better option, however, this chapter made me feel a little more positive towards the use of punishment (in mild, ethical forms of course). My favorite part though, was probably the part where disrupting operant behavior was explained because it, in a sense, is punishment but without the aversive side effects on both punisher and the punishee. If punishment is to be used, I would probably lean more toward the use of disruptive behaviors over full blown punishment.
Obviously, this chapter is related to previous chapters because it deals with punishment. Much like I felt about section 2.2, I feel this section greatly expanded upon knowledge and material presented to us throughout chapter 1 and has contributed to the complexity of behavior modification.
I will definitely remember the idea of disrupting operant behavior because I had never really thought about it before. It makes much more sense though to take the child out of the situation (antecedent) that is causing the aversive behavior instead of potentially worsening the current relationship.
I will also remember that if punishment is the best option, to do it right the first time in order to cease the possibility that the punishment will need to continue to change the aversive behavior.
Lastly, I will remember the importance of the immediacy of punishment. Punishing an aversive behavior right when it happens is important because the person receiving the punishment will know exactly what behavior is aversive. If you wait until 5 hours has passed since the behavior occurred and you tell someone to go to their room, they will be confused and the procedure will likely be ineffective.
I didn’t have a difficult time with the material in this chapter but could benefit from more examples of negative punishment. I have an easy time with the positive sides of reinforcement and punishment, but the negative side is a little more difficult!
Terms used: punishment, aversive, punisher, disrupting, operant behavior, antecedent, reinforcement
My favorite part of this section was how it really defined punishment in both the positive and negative forms and also what the appropriate context for using them should be. Being that punishment usual causes unwanted emotions on the punished and toward the punisher, we should try to avoid usage unless it is necessary. A good instance would be, if a child is running toward the street you don"t say hey if u come back i'll give you a candy, you run over there and snatch them up. The more that it startles the child the more effective and lasting the punishment is going to be for you. Immediacy is also a huge part of punishment. The target behavior must be stopped right before or while in the middle of action. This will assure that there is no confusion on what they are being punished for. This section was really good for me. It elaborated a great deal on our previous discussions. It makes it clear that punishment should be a last resort. The cultural differences were also interesting. It is good to keep in mind that things are not the same across the world. What might be a small crime here could be potentially deadly somewhere else. I reminded of a story we were told in high school about selling drugs in saudi arabia, i believe. If you are caught selling drugs to someone they take you to the spot where you sold them and put a bullet in your head and leave you there as an example. That's a pretty clear message for me!
terms: target behavior, punishment, immediacy, context, positive and negative
In this section one thing I really liked was the question of is it ok to manipulate people and how far is too far? I believe that if no one had anything or anyone to correct them on bad behavior people could hurt themselves or other people. Which leads to the next section that I will remember. About how there may be only one choice in correcting a behavior if that behavior is harmful. It is like yelling at a kid to not run in the street. If you wait for them to “learn” on their own or reinforce good behavior, they may be seriously injured or dead. Though reinforcement may be the better option when things become dangerous or harmful there is only one way to get the message across quickly and that is by aversive behavior.
I did spot something that I may not have understood. In the section of positive punishment there is an example of the brother deleting all the itunes songs, and the aversive consequence would be cutting the power. Would that not be negative punishment because you are taking power away? Sort of like if you were to take away the power cord to a t.v.?
Terms; manipulate, behavior, reinforce, positive punishment, aversive, negative punishment
Reading through this section, made me think about different kinds of punishment and how I would use them, under what context. This material relates to previous sections, we talked about what is target behavior and how to manipulate other people to get the desired behavior. In section 2.3 its all about punishment.
Positive punishment is adding something aversive to DECREASE the frequency of the unwanted behavior, for example; girlfriend pinches her boyfriends arm when he says something she doesn’t like. Negative punishment is removing something desirable to DECREASE the frequency of the unwanted behavior, for example; parent taking the kids telephone for a week. No matter what punishment the punisher wants to use its important to keep in mind it needs to be ethical.
Three things I will remember from this section are: Cultural differences in punishment, the frequency of punishment and immediacy of punishment. I think these three concepts are easy to remember and are easily applied in everyday life.
Something we can talk about in class is disrupting the operant behavior because I don’t really have a good grip in recognizing if its reinforcing for that individual that is emitting the behavior and what kind of situations disrupts the behavior.
Terms used: positive punishment, negative punishment, punisher desirable, aversive, emit, context
This was an attractive chapter to me because it began to go in a different direction. Most of the previous chapters had focused much on vocabulary, while this one dealt with ethical issues of the terms we already knew. I liked how Maclin gave real world examples to describe the use of extremely aversive punishment. The exercises we filled out were open-ended, and while I didn't learn a whole lot from this chapter, it definately made me think.
This chapter gave a different spin on what was said in section 2.1. Section 2.1 had a strong emphasis on using reinforcement whenever possible, rather than punishment. This made sense to most of us as we enjoy making others and ourselves feel good; it's intrinsically rewarding. In 2.3 however, Maclin broke the reality to us: we can't always use reinforcement. Often times, the behavior is so serious that it must be changed immediately.
I will remember most the section about behaviors that may change consequently of aversive punishment. Sometimes, these behaviors aren't the target behavior. This is important with children diagnosed with ADHD. Often, these individuals are extremely sensitive to criticism or punishment. This could spawn something extremely aversive if not handled correctly.
Thought it may not be necesary to go over in class, I am interested in Skinner's concept of a reinforcement-only society. To me, this seems impossible. If everything is pleasurable and nothing is aversive, wouldn't pleasurable things be less pleasurable? This isn't a huge issue, I guess Skinner just had more faith in humanity than I do. :P
Terms used: aversive, punishment, reinforcement, pleasurable
I liked this section because I think it is always intersting to explore the idea of a society without punishment. Even though Walden 2 was a fiction novel the points that skinner made and way he had it set up really seemed like it could work. I thought it was interesting that the sheep even trained themselves idk how realistic that would be or not. Unfortunately I think that we will always have someone in our society that will reinforce the need for punishment. This section focused on punishment and went deeper into it even though it is something we have briefly discussed in past sections.
From this section I will remember Walden 2 and the idea of a society without punishment. I will remember positive punishement (adding an aversive stimulus to decrease a target behavior that is undesireable) and negative punishment (removing a desireable stimulus or privledge to decrease and undesireable behavior). I will also remember disrupting the operant behavior which means that if there is a behavior happening that you may not like instead of using punishment you can interupt the behavior with something and that will generally bring it to a halt because the subject will begin another behavior and stop the aversive one.
I felt pretty confident with this section and there wasn't anything I was second guessing myself on this time.
Terms:Reinforcement, target behavior, operant behavior, positive punishment, negative punishment, aversive.
This section was specifically over punishment. Punishment is a tool used to decrease a particular behavior. It began with a review of positive punishment and negative punishment. Positive punishment involves adding an aversive stimulus in order to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment is the removal of a desirable stimulus in order to decrease a behavior.
It is always a relief to me when there are reviews of previously learned items and I understand everything that is being said. I was also glad that the “Ethical Issues” section was included. While I understand and appreciate behavior modification, it was a good tool for clarifying how it should be used, specifically.
In expanding on what we’ve learned the term extreme negative reinforcement was introduced. This included the explanation of very aversive techniques, such as the U.S. use of water boarding for interrogation. The chapter in general discussed when and how punishment should be used, which was very helpful to me. The idea that punishment is used when a behavior needs to be stopped immediately makes sense to me. Also making sure that it is severe enough, but pointing out that extreme measure need not be always taken makes me more confident in disciplining the children I work with on a day to day basis. There is one child who has been known to get angry and emit a hitting or pushing behavior with other children. We immediately remove him from the play ground and he loses privileges, which is normally very aversive for this boy. In this case, this child has behavioral problems which are a bit beyond the situation, but the effects of the punishment would last at least a couple of days.
Terms used: Punishment, Positive punishment, Negative punishment, Extreme negative reinforcement, emit, aversive, stimulus
I liked how this section explained the pros and cons of punishment. I have always believed that reinforcement is a better method to use than punishment, but I also don't believe that punishment should never be used. Of course reinforcement is ideal, but sometimes a behavior has to be stopped immediately if it endangers someone. I liked learning about disruption of a behavior, because it seemed to be an alternative to punishment. It would obtain quick results, without the aversive side effects of punishment.
Like section 2.2, I think this section was important because it helped explain a procedure (in this case punishment) in a more detailed way. I already knew what punishment was before reading this section, but I was able to think more critically about it after the reading.
I will remember the difference between positive and negative punishment, because the practice boxes made me more comfortable with giving examples. I will also remember the part about extreme negative reinforcement, because I thought it was shocking. When I think of reinforcement procedures, I have never thought that torture could be included. Lastly, I will remember that if punishment is used, it needs to be consistent to work. I know this from personal experience. My cousins are very poorly behaved. When they are around the rest of my family, my aunt and uncle will try to discipline them. My cousins don't receive discipline at home though. This means that their behaviors aren't affected my punishment, because it isn't received consistently (which is confusing for them).
Terms: punishment, extreme negative reinforcement, aversive, disruption of a behavior
What I liked about this section was that it gave a more applaction based approach and gave a wider range of examples that were interesting and built up some of the prior knowlegde just a little bit more. It obviously relates back to the punishment vs reinforcement idea of which is better.
The three things that I will remember from this seection is that 1)punishment is difficult to get right for a number of reasons such as making sure the punishment is immediate,to the right degree of intensity andconsistent.2)Always take into considerations the ethical implications of the punishment. 3) When it comes to punishment disrupting the operant behavior can be the best bet when it is properly executed.
Terms used: Punishment, reinforcemnt, disruption of behavior,
I appreciate that torture was brought up for punishment. I think it is often overlooked, and I found it encouraging that the APA does not want Psychologists involved in such techniques as torture. I also appreciate the idea of a society in which reinforcement is always used. I think it is a shame that it is a utopian idea, which is most likely the case because reinforcement requires effort and creativity. Our society tends to reinforce the behavior of ease, or whatever takes the least effort.
This section was important in laying out why punishment is a last resort. It is detrimental to the punisher and the punished. Such as the torturer is punished as much as the tortured, it is just manifested differently in each. I thought about the idea of ethics, and I wonder if there are cases in which reinforcement is unethical? I suppose reinforcing illegal behaviors would be unethical, especially for psychologists trained in manipulating environments and behaviors. Understanding positive and negative punishment was not too difficult due to the amount of repetition involved in earlier sections covering reinforcement. I am thankful for the succinct and simple repetitive approach to eliciting the target behavior of learning that the book elicits.
In class I would like to discuss a few examples of positive and negative punishment just to make the concepts concrete. I also would be interested in what people had to say about torture. Although I have been punished for hoping that my peers would emit the behavior of sharing their thoughts in class, which I assume is frustrating for the educators as well. (Not specifically this class, but in general).
terms:punishment, reinforcement, behavior, ethics, emit, elicit, target behavior, positive punishment, negative punishment.
The part that I liked most about section 2.3 was how it went over the different forms of punishment, and how if punishment is needed it should be used to be successful. I agree with Skinner that reinforcement is better than punishment, but I don't think that there could be a society in which punishment is not needed at all, or Utopian.
Building on previous sections and reviewing the terms previously used particularly the difference between positive and negative punishment has helped me yet again to understand the differences a little more. Positive punishment involves the addition of something aversive while negative punishment is the removal of something pleasurable.I realize that these terms should be easy to understand and almost common sense like but I believe they are easy to get confused.
Three things that I will remember from this chapter are that
1: In order for punishment to be effective the punisher needs to be aversive enough that it actually stops the behavior from occurring, it needs to be consistant, it needs to occur directly after the undesirable behavior and it needs to be intense enough that the behavior is stopped.
2: Punishment is upsetting for everyone involved
3: Controlling the environment is a better way to elicit wanted behaviors than punishment, although it isn't as immediate.
Terms: Elicit, Punisher, Punishment, Reinforcement, Positive punishment, Negative punishment
Like last section, I found this section rather enjoyable and not so annoying. The examples came rather easy, and everything made plenty of sense. I really liked that this section went into the downsides of punishment, because I always believed it to be true, but it's nice to see the direct correlation between positive/negative punishment and poor outcomes. Punishment can cause the person emitting poor behavior to have negative side effects. It also brings aversive stimuli to both ends of the punishment, which we never want, but in some situations simply cannot avoid.
This section relates to previous sections in that it forces us to apply punishment to many aspects of our life, whether it be positive or negative, and goes into further detail on what all of this means to us and how we should use it in the future. It teaches us the proper techniques to elicit the correct behavior if you have to resort to punishment
Three things I will remember from this section are:
1. Reinforcement is almost always the better route over punishment, but sometimes punishment is unavoidable.
2. You need to apply aversive stimulus immediately after unwanted behavior occurs.
3. Punishment brings aversive stimuli to both ends of the punishment.
In class I wouldn't mind a discussion over how everyone feels about punishment techniques, and also what you meant when you asked about the psychologists. Other than that, I'm good.
terms- punishment, reinforcement, aversive stimulus, positive/negative punishment, elicit, emit
Section 2.3 definitely did not act as a punisher on me. I will not be decreasing my textbook reading behavior. I liked that this section brought in an example of torture. Torturing somebody to get answers or information is indeed punishment and is debated frequently on whether or not it is the moral thing to do. I also like the real life examples of punishment that are used. Such as police using guns, tasers, and clubs to inflict punishment on a criminal.
This section like the last one did with reinforcement, takes punishment and goes the extra mile. It sets the occasion for the reader to emit a learning behavior. I will remember from reading this section that reinforcement is preferred over punishment for modifying and individual's behavior. Another thing that will stick with me is that punishment has to be quick. When working with kids I know that this is true. If a behavior needs to cease, you have to get in there quick and administer a punishment. I also know from experience that if you don't want a behavior to occur, altering the antecedent is a great way to do so. If I know that a certain toy is just going to cause problems, I will put it up before the toys get brought out.
I would like it if you went through most of the section. That would be a good way to elicit a learning behavior for me. It would give me the chance to see if I can remember and understand these concepts.
Terms Used:
punishment, reinforcement, emit, elicit, antecedent, set the occasion
In the 2.2 chapters I really liked about the examples of positive punishment and negative punishment. These are very clear to understand that meaning because they have a vivid expression. It was very useful examples for me when I explain or understand. Also, I can use these the way of behavior modification in any situation appropriately. This chapter is relate to other chapters which I learned in particular about punishment. Although I learned only punishment and negative or positive punishment before chapter I know the diverse of punishment in this chapter now.
One of the things I will remember from this chapter is the importance of the immediacy of punishment. It enables when I use punish, I can use more effectively. Also, I will remember the cultural differences in punishment. Actually, This part was so unfamiliar to me because I did not know cultural differences exist even in punishment. Lastly, I will remember the various types of punishment. Punishments are depend on the offensiveness of the undesirable behavior. So I think it depends upon the circumstances.
I would like to go over in class about the overall punishment. Understanding punishment is more difficult than reinforcement to me.
Terms: positive punishment, negative punishment, reinforcement, punishment.
What I liked most about section 2.3 was the excessive amounts of examples and explanations. I feel like I have been understanding a majority of the information but the many examples elicit a repetition way of teaching which is positive reinforcement for the learning behavior I've emitted thus far. Adding more examples to increase a learning behavior is positive reinforcement.
This is a continuation of what we've learned about punishment and reinforcement. Although this section really focuses on punishment, it makes more connections between the effectiveness of reinforcement and punishment. We are given more options on what to emit when a certain consequence doesn't work as well as we'd like, what's most effective, and the timeliness details to be most efficient.
Three things I will remember from this section are that for punishment to be effective, you need to be abrupt, appropriately intense, immediate with the consequence, and consistent. Also, many who want to emit punishment, whether positive or negative, may run into ethical issues; which is why the best options of behavior modification are positive reinforcement and extinction. Lastly, disrupting operant behavior is considered a punishment. Simply disrupting a behavior can serve as punishment because it is able to decrease or stop and aversive behavior.
The only topic I think would be helpful to cover more in depth in class is the ethical issues psychologists may run into by eliciting different types of punishment.
Vocabulary used: elicit, positive reinforcement, punishment, emit, extinction, aversive