Punishment
- punishments
- intrinsic - the behavior itself (pushups, starting a fight)
- extrinsic - the punishment is applied (someone makes fun of you)
- primary - innately punishing. biological (hunger, extreme temps)
- secondary - learned punishment (feeling bad when you get a bad grade)
- generalized - associated with multiple punishments (silent treatment)
- problems with punishments
- punishment of maladaptive behavior doesn’t directly strengthen occurrence of adaptive behavior
- have to differentially reinforce adaptive behavior
- punishing one behavior can result in generalized suppression of other behaviors
- the person delivering the punishment may become the discriminative stimulus for punishment
- may only suppress unwanted behavior only when person is present
- punishment may teach the person to avoid the person who delivered the punishment
- punishment is likely to elicit strong emotional response (aggression)
- punishment through modeling could teach person that punishment is acceptable means of controlling behavior (corporal punishment)
- punishment often has immediate effect stopping unwanted behavior
- use of punishment is strongly reinforced
- benefits and effective use of punishment
- benefits
- can lead to increase in social behavior
- sometimes results in mood improvement
- removes guilt
- can increase attention to environment - being more careful in order to avoid punishment
- effective use
- must be immediate
- must be consistent
- should be intense enough that it works
- proportional response
- negative punishment is generally preferable to positive punishment
- should be accompanied by explanation
- should be combined w positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior
- noncontingent punishment: punishment not tied to a behavior. uncontrollable / unpredictable
- causes learned helplessness, anxiety, depression
- cure for learned helplessness - forced to escape aversive stimulus prior exposure
- prevention - give people experience with minor adversities in order to build up resilience against more serious difficulties