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Chapter 15: Punishment, Violence & Behaviorism Critique

Punishment

Punishment: Norm to learn and unlearn behaviors for centuries.

Skinner devised Schedules of Punishment to prevent unwanted behaviors.

Schedules of Punishment

Schedules of Punishment:

• Rat presses bar → mild electric shock → frequency decreases.
• Mild shock loses value → rat persists.
• Intense shock → stops bar pressing.
• Intense but inconsistent shock → does not stop bar pressing.
• Intense and consistent shock → stops bar pressing.

Generalization of Punishment

Generalization of Punishment: Punishment suppresses other activities like reinforcement.

Example: punishing child in math → performance in science, English, social studies also decreases.

Only consistent and severe punishment is effective.

Human application: inconsistent punishment ineffective; consistent intensive punishment often impractical or immoral.

Punishment as Reinforcement

Punishment as Reinforcement: Sometimes punishment reinforces behavior (e.g., child seeks attention; gets slapped → attention received).

Reinforcing behavior through punishment can increase unwanted future behavior.

Effective Alternative

Effective Alternative: Reward children frequently and ignore unwanted behaviors.

Energetic progress in good behavior can eliminate bad behavior.

Implications for Violence

Implications for Violence:

• Physical punishment harms self-esteem, motivation, emotions, and progress.
• Modeling of violence: children imitate adults; aggression begets aggression.
• Punishment may stop behavior temporarily but stimulates further aggression.
• Pairing punishment with criticism, name-calling, verbal abuse → fear of punisher, loss of trust.
• Effects of punishment are short-term; do not teach future appropriate behavior.

Built-up Rage

Built-up Rage: Punished child experiences emotional turmoil, resentment, fantasy, and revenge → hatred.

• Behavior may stop only in presence of adult; negative behavior may continue when adult absent.
• Child may substitute one aggressive act with another (e.g., verbal abuse).
• Frequent punishment may cause withdrawal, regression, fear, lying, sneakiness, rationalization, lowered self-esteem.
• Child may strike back or displace anger → chain of violence and aggression.
• Threats not carried out → excessive fear or distrust of parent.
• Research: sexual abusers often have history of physical punishment, not necessarily sexual abuse.

Problems with Behaviorism

Problems with Behaviorism:

• Human beings more than animals; have interaction, religion, language.
• Ignored importance of language: humans express feelings, abstract concepts, moral/religious systems.
• Ignored memory and cognitive processes: emphasized outward behavior, dismissed inner experience and procedural aspects.
• Animal violence common; some humans live without violence → evolved creation.
• Behaviorism contributed to psychology, education, and forensic psychology but falls short at spiritual and human status level.

Key Concepts in Punishment and Behaviorism

Summary of Important Points

Aspect	Description
Punishment	Schedules to prevent behaviors; intensity and consistency key
Generalization	Suppresses related activities; inconsistent punishment ineffective
Punishment as Reinforcement	Can reinforce unwanted behavior via attention
Effective Alternative	Reward good behaviors, ignore bad ones
Implications for Violence	Harms self-esteem, models aggression, short-term effects
Problems with Behaviorism	Ignores language, cognition, spirituality; humans > animals

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