HOW EFFECTIVE IS PUNISHMENT IN CAUSING A CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR?
Applying a punishment should be carefully guided by an understanding of learning Principles. The following conditions, related to learning, help determine how effective a Punishment is likely to be. These conditions, in turn, are impacted by a broader array of environmental and experiential factors which also impact the effectiveness of any punishment and suggest other alternatives to punishment. Punishment should be severe enough to cause some discomfort.
However, the intensity should not be so severe as to hinder the organism from responding at all. For example, new recruits in military training use blanks in their first field exercises, rather than live “enemy” bullets. The intense, punishing conditions of battle are there. However, death- the ultimate punishment — doesn’t follow if the forgetful recruit gets caught in a line of fire.
The response to be altered must be punished with consistency. It is much easier to learn what is being done wrong if the punishment for errors always occurs and is always the same. Suppose a child is told she will lose the right to ride her tricycle for 24 hours if that tricycle is not put away properly at the end of each day. That punishment should be applied each time the offense occurs.
As you read elsewhere, the timing of a reinforcement is quite important in learning a response. Timing is also important in punishment. Generally, the greater the time between the response and the punishment it produces, the weaker the effect of that punishment on the response. What’s the favourite threat of frustrated baby-sitters when the children get out of hand? “Just wait until your parents get home!” It may be the least effective punishment of all even less so because understanding the threat requires a level of abstraction beyond the capabilities of many children.
The strength of the punishment must be related to the strength of the response being punished. The greater the pleasure to be given up, the more severe the punishment must be.
For instance, people who enjoy smoking say they feel relaxed when they smoke. They say it helps control their nerves. It keeps their hands busy. In fact, they say it generally makes them feel more socially acceptable or used to, until lately. Such people are not going to be convinced to stop smoking by reading, SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy.” Despite the truth of the warning, the punishment is simply too weak relative to the strength of the response to be much of a deterrent.
A punishment may lose its ability to alter a response. What is at first a punishment strong enough to alter behavior may eventually mean little to the persons or animals being punished. Alternatively, the benefits gained by the organism from the response being punished may outweigh the costs associated with the punishment. The organism experiences adaptation in which he/she comes to view the punishment as an acceptable cost for the benefits received.
Punishment presents the fastest way to changing behavior, However, punishment might be dangerous to an individual. Among of the effect of punishments are:
- Punishment can be abusive. – For example, a teacher might become so aroused when he is punishing a student that he becomes abusive.
- Punishment may create a new problem, that is aggression. Students commonly react to physical punishment by learning to dislike the punisher and perhaps byreacting aggressively toward that person.
Thus, punishment does not convey any information about what an alternative and more appropriate behaviour might be. It may suppress one inappropriate behaviour only to be replaced by another one. Punishment can turn out to be reinforcing. A student might learn that misbehaving will get the teacher’s attention.
As a conclusion, punishment should be used only as the last option. Do not use positive physical punishment. Use negative punishment, instead. A teacher should first positively reinforced appropriate behaviours to take place of the inappropriate behaviours he is trying to eliminate.