would the same be applicable if the variables were different??
say like adults in an office setting.??
or the president to his subordinates.??
just curious.. :)
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My cousin Barbara bought me milkshakes. Starting in first grade, for every 6-week report card that was all "A's," she took me to the local Dairy Treet in our small south Texas town and treated me to a chocolate milkshake. She did eventually admit to project fatigue, but she never waivered and held to her 25 cents commitment until a few years later when she drove off to college. By that time, however, the rewards for success had been deeply ingrained in me, albeit associated with high cholesterol, carbohydrate-laden chocolate milkshakes. This is called "positive reinforcement."
I began thinking about positive reinforcement the other day when I was at the grocery store, filling the list my wife had given me as I left for work that morning. As I turned the corner into the frozen food aisle, I came upon a frazzled mother yelling at her three-year-old to sit still in the grocery cart. The mother's face was flush, her hair in disarray, and she appeared near tears. The three-year-old just stared at her blankly, with absolutely no idea as to what was going on.
Although our discussions in this blog usually focus on "high-risk" children, along the way I will take a few detours to discuss some basic concepts that all parents need to understand. One of the most important of these concepts is discipline.
When it comes to discipline, parents traditionally use two basic tools to manage their children's behaviors: reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement takes place when something the child likes, such as a sticker, is offered to the child to increase the frequency of an appropriate behavior (e.g., sitting still in the grocery cart). When the desired behavior occurs the reinforcer (sticker) must follow it. Reinforcers cover everything from privileges, attention, praise, power, and choices to material items (including milkshakes).
Punishment is used to decrease the occurrence of an inappropriate or undesirable behavior. When a child is making noises at the dinner table, the parent may reprimand her in an attempt to stop or decrease the behavior. If the child stops making noises after the reprimand, then the reprimand is an effective punishment. Time outs, verbal reprimands, and extra homework are all examples of punishment.
Within the reinforcement/punishment model, there are two aspects: (1) positive and (2) negative. Positive means you've given something in response to a behavior, while negative means you've taken something away. So let's look at positive and negative reinforcement and punishment.
Positive reinforcement Positive reinforcement occurs when a reward or privilege is given following an appropriate behavior, thus increasing the frequency of the behavior. Let's say Jamal is having trouble finishing his homework. Because Jamal is interested in his baseball card collection, his mother works out an agreement with him in which Jamal earns points for every homework assignment he turns in on time. His mother exchanges the points for money that Jamal can use to purchase baseball cards. Jamal completes his homework on time. Positive reinforcement has occurred because the frequency of the appropriate behavior has increased in response to the presence of the reinforcer.
Negative reinforcement Negative reinforcement occurs when an event or object the child dislikes is removed after the child demonstrates the appropriate behavior. For example, Tom never seems to complete class assignments, even though his teacher knows he is capable of doing the work. The teacher stands near Tom's desk, prompting him to complete the work. Tom does not like the teacher's frequent prompts, but he begins completing his work; in turn, the teacher walks away and leaves him alone. Tom continues to finish his work to avoid future prompting. Negative reinforcement has occurred because the frequency of the appropriate behavior increased in response to the removal of the unwanted prompt.
Positive punishment Positive punishment occurs when an undesirable requirement or condition is introduced to the child to reduce the occurrence of an inappropriate behavior. Eric is playing around and not listening to the coach during practice. The coach tells him to do 50 push-ups. Positive punishment has occurred because the coach seeks to decrease the frequency of the behavior through the presence of the punishment.
Negative punishment Negative punishment occurs when a desirable event or object is removed after instances of unwanted behavior, resulting in a decrease in the behavior. Removing privileges, the most common use of negative punishment, can be effective in the short term for reducing misbehavior. Tamara continually talks to her friends during class, despite frequent reminders to stop. The teacher punishes her by not allowing her to go outside during recess. Negative punishment has occurred because the teacher is attempting to decrease an undesirable behavior by removing a desired event or response.
These are the four forms of discipline. However, the only one that works is positive reinforcement. That's why I always tell parents to "catch 'em being good!" Let me say that again. Negative reinforcement or any kind of punishment simply does not work to change your child's long-term behavior. You may argue with me, you may send me contrary opinions via email, but I stand by my statement. The only thing that works is positive reinforcement. If the mother at the grocery store had complimented her child for sitting so nicely in the grocery cart rather than waiting until the child was beginning to squirm, the confrontation probably could have been avoided.
Of course, the trick is that the most important form of positive reinforcement is grounded in the relationship between parent and child. A parent's smile works even better than a chocolate milkshake.
would the same be applicable if the variables were different??
say like adults in an office setting.??
or the president to his subordinates.??
just curious.. :)
I found this article very unsatisfying. It analyzes the options and makes a 'bold' assertion but provides no explanation to justify it, nor any evidence to support it.
Not saying you're wrong (or right) - there's just nothing to go on to form an opinion.
Yeah, you need more than "This is the right way and there's no better way!" without providing any further evidence to support your claim.
Quite disappointed by this article as I do share the hypothesis that positive reinforcement is better, but not necessarily the only method for absolutely every situation as the article seems to say.
It is the received wisdom that positive reinforcement is the only way of course. As a teacher, I understand your point completely. I would add that reinforcement should be to do with addressing the child's small steps made along the way to the success, not a blasé "Oh how wonderful". Acknowledgement of each point along the way serves a child far better in my experience.
When I grew up in the UK. some years after the war, many of my teachers would not have made it in today's world of education. We learned by fear, by negative reinforcement. But we DID learn. The book around the back of the head when we couldn't remember our times tables, the breaking of an umbrella top across a teacher's desk in fury at an incorrect response, instilled the full measure of negative reinforcement in each of us. But do you know, we went home - and we learned. And once we had learned what was unlearned, and the teacher was pleased, we were happy too. And we realised that life is not all praise, and perhaps we were more grounded somehow in life at that early age, although I do not approve of negative reinforcement in general. I don't think this area is all black and white, and I take exception to your singular stand.
It's a very interesting statement, but we're talking about Psychology here, which is a science, and scientific facts are not built on opinions. It would be interesting to see further articles showing data that proves how this is true, and also some ideas on how to suppress an unwanted behavior, because I don't think I could prevent my kids from doing drugs by praising them when they're not doing them.
The explanations for each term, Positive/negative punishment, reinforcement, is on target. However, I do not think one is necessarily always better than another.
Using only positive reinforcement is providing a reward for good behavior. However, what if the the person wants to misbehave more than he wants the reward?
You can only get the desired behavior but making that person feel uncomfortable.
For example, years ago, my boss told me that I was rude to people and I had better shape up or ship out. I never thought of myself as being rude. This was an awakening to me and caused me to act differently because I felt like a complete jerk. This meeting with the boss really shook me up.
However, you do Never want to break a person's spirit.
A good approach is to use both negative and positive effectively. For example, a boss can say. You have done a great job on the project and your knowledge is a great resource. However, people perceive you as rude and I would suggest that you get coaching or choose another path.
Well not saying you are completely wrong, but you are wrong. Yes all forms of reinforcement and punishment are usefull. But positive reinforcement is by no means the only or best method. Speaking from experience I would have walked all over you as a child... oh I would have acted great to your face to get those reward. Assuming I thought the reward was worth it at all... But as soon as you turn your back I'm doing exactly what you were trying to prevent. Then even if you catch me what are you going to do... not give me a reward? No biggie I know all I have to do is throw some good behavior at it while your watching me again. And the cycle continues. Without the negative reinforcements and punishments I received as a child, I would have ended up like these kids and young adults running around here acting the way they do.
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