When we ban our son from going to his favorite singer’s concert or using the computer for a few days for his actions, we try to penalize his bad behavior, that is, punishing children seeks to suppress a series of undesirable actions. The main advantages are two. On the one hand, it has a very fast effect and, on the other hand, eliminates inappropriate behaviors and rearranges the desired ones.
However, punishing children produces a number of subsequent side effects that adults often go unnoticed. This series of reactions, mainly emotional and behavioral, makes us think that punishment may not be the best way to stop or reduce the frequency of misconduct.
- This control technique is used to eliminate certain undesirable behaviors.
- In particular we will focus on what is called positive punishment.
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- The release of aversive stimulus.
- Understood as a stimulus that has unpleasant consequences for the recipient.
An example of this type of conditioning could be when a child bites his nails continuously and a very bitter product is applied to prevent him from doing so, so every time you put your fingers in your mouth you will have an unpleasant feeling. repeat it several times, eventually you will abandon this habit so as not to suffer the bitter taste.
For the corrector to be as effective as possible, a number of variables need to be taken into account:
In addition, the child should repair as much as possible the damage he has caused by his behavior, for example, if a child is playing at home with the ball, when his parents have told him not to do so and inadvertently breaks a vase, has to clean, sweep the pieces and collect all the ceramic pieces.
The results of instrumental conductism (response? Consequently) they are very useful in practice, people act guided by motivations and interests, tending to repeat behaviors or attitudes for which they receive a reward; however, when this philosophy moves to children’s learning, punishment is not always the most practical way to educate. We’ll talk about some of your drawbacks below.
The emotional state of a person who has just been punished is generally quite frustrating, associated with negative thoughts towards the person who handles it and generates a sense of helplessness, so we can produce a number of emotional responses, such as crying, screaming, kicking, throwing tantrums and even aggressive behaviors. And addressed not only to the person who administered the punishment, but also to the other people present.
The person administering the punishment and other environmental stimuli can become unpleasant to the child, becoming warning signs that an unpleasant consequence is approaching, so the punished behavior will not appear in your presence, but in your absence, this side effect is the prototype Behavior in the classroom: children misbehavior when there is no teacher in the classroom and stop hurting as soon as someone enters the classroom.
Punishment of children can also help replace behaviors that are penalized for equally undesirable behavior, so it is so important to apply the penalty with an alternative so that the child knows what is right and what is being punished. eliminate behavior, its application leads to escapism and avoids its own consequences.
The person applying the teaching can be exalted. Of course, if the punishment is physical and involves the use of a slap or slap, the effect is doubly negative, not only because it is punishable by law, but because parents are role models for their children and the example given to children. child hitting him is terrible. Young children learn everything they are taught, including bad habits and bad behavior, although they are corrective and aimed at correcting their behavior.
When there are several possible answers and one of them is not desirable to eliminate, it is possible to reward the realization of any of the other answers, if they are incompatible with the realization of the undesirable ones. This method, known as differential reinforcement of other behaviors (RDO), generally gives better long-term results than punishment for an adverse response.
It is important not to educate children in a constant exchange of rewards or prohibitions, as they will not learn to appreciate discipline, that is, they will not do their homework because they believe it will be useful to them for the future, but because they know that they will be able to go out on weekends with their friends. This can give results, but they will have a good dose of extrinsic motivation, memorizing without learning and just looking for the price.
Punishment should therefore be applied with caution and restraint, as excess can make the child an antisocial being.