Do you agree with the 'rules' of punishment outlined on this page? What is the scienftic basis for these rules? Which rules do you thank are most important from a behavioral perspective?
"Rules" for the Effective Use of Punishment
(of the Positive or Negative Persuasion)
https://sites.google.com/site/conditioningandlearning2009/Home/punishment
I most certainly agree with most, if not all of these rules. Most importantly so, the increase of intensity in severity of the punishment (provided the undesirable behavior is not ceasing).
The entire idea behind the concept of punishment is to bring a halt to the undesirable behavior IMMEDIATELY. Punishment typically should be used in situations that pose an immediate threat to the child.
The rules stating the necessity of communication to the children about what is acceptable behavior and what is not, how they will be punished, and being consistent are incredibly important. Especially when working with children, consistency will eliminate confusion and mixed feelings in the child.
If I had to choose a rule of these 15 that is the most important, it would be rule #14. Put the behavior on extinction if possible. Since the idea behind punishment is to bring an immediate cessation to behavior, the most valuable response to the punishment would be not to have the behavior attempted again.
I most certainly agree with most, if not all of these rules. Most importantly so, the increase of intensity in severity of the punishment (provided the undesirable behavior is not ceasing).
The entire idea behind the concept of punishment is to bring a halt to the undesirable behavior IMMEDIATELY. Punishment typically should be used in situations that pose an immediate threat to the child.
The rules stating the necessity of communication to the children about what is acceptable behavior and what is not, how they will be punished, and being consistent are incredibly important. Especially when working with children, consistency will eliminate confusion and mixed feelings in the child.
If I had to choose a rule of these 15 that is the most important, it would be rule #14. Put the behavior on extinction if possible. Since the idea behind punishment is to bring an immediate cessation to behavior, the most valuable response to the punishment would be not to have the behavior attempted again.
I also agree with most of these rules but I think the two most important are giving the punishment immediately after the undesirable behavior occurs. As a person who works with children the punishment has the highest effectiveness directly after the punishment occurs. If a child misbehaves at school and the parents punish them for it at home it has less of an impact than if the teacher would have punished them directly after it happened. I think the second most important is the last rule stating that we should talk to children. Children know what is right and what is wrong but in my experience often don't know why things are wrong. When they have a better understanding of why they should not do things it is easier for them to refrain from the undesirable behaviors.
I have to agree with the rules listed. The scientific basis behind them is based on timing and consistency. Not on how adverse the punishment is. Otto mentioned in class how the behavior needs to be interrupted.
If a punishment is given before a behavior or long after a behavior it will have no affect. If a punishment is given directly following the adverse behavior then the one being punished can relate the punishment to the behavior.
Consistency has to be present in punishment as well. If the adverse behavior is punished immediately following the behavior the first time and not punished the second time the person will be more likely to emit the adverse behavior again. Punishment needs to be immediately present every time the adverse behavior is emitted.
I agree with many of the rules provided for punishment and even follow them myself when working with children.
Any form of conditioning, be it reinforcement or punishment, should be immediate for it to be effective. It goes with the ABCs of behavior. Antecedent, behavior, consequence. Behavior is linked with its antecedent and consequence. If the response to the behavior, or the consequence, is delayed, it may not be linked to the behavior. One could instead link the behavior with a more positive consequence that did occur directly after the behavior.
Being consistent is another huge part of punishments. Without consistency, change is unlikely to happen, as the person is unsure of the consequences of their behaviors.
While I do use these rules of punishment and punishment itself with children, I wonder about its efficacy. I have considered punishment's efficacy before in my own experiences, but really began to question it after class on Thursday. While discussing spanking and other punishments, everyone was able to remember their experiences with punishment as a child, but few could remember why they were punished. Discussing all of this made me realize how much more effective reinforcements likely are.
In the end, the goal of reinforcements and punishers are the same. To reduce the bad behavior.