Question

Discuss how punishment and negative reinforcement differ, and list some drawbacks of punishment as a behavior-control technique. Be specific as far as positive and negative examples in both categories.

Answer 1

In operant conditioning, positive and negative do not mean good and bad. Instead, positive means you are adding something, and negative means you are taking something away. Reinforcement means you are increasing a behavior, and punishment means you are decreasing a behavior. Reinforcement can be positive or negative, and punishment can also be positive or negative. All reinforcers (positive or negative) increase the likelihood of a behavioral response. All punishers (positive or negative) decrease the likelihood of a behavioral response.

In positive reinforcement, a desirable stimulus is added to increase a behavior. forexample, A mother gives her daughter a toy for doing homework.

In negative reinforcement, an undesirable stimulus is removed to increase a behavior. For example, car manufacturers use the principles of negative reinforcement in their seatbelt systems, which go “beep, beep, beep” until you fasten your seatbelt. The annoying sound stops when you exhibit the desired behavior, increasing the likelihood that you will buckle up in the future.

Punishment always decreases a behavior. In positive punishment, you add an undesirable stimulus to decrease a behavior. The following are some examples of positive punishment: A child touches a hot stove (behavior) and feels pain (aversive stimulus) and a person eats spoiled food (behavior) and gets a bad taste in his/her mouth (aversive stimulus).

Negative punishment happens when a certain reinforcing stimulus is removed after a particular undesired behavior is exhibited, resulting in the behavior happening less often in the future. Example, a child fights with her brother (behavior) and has her favorite toy taken away (reinforcing stimulus removed).

Both reinforcement and punishment can modify behavior. The difference between them is that reinforcement aims to increase target behavior while punishment aims to decrease behavior. Negative reinforcement and punishment are particularly powerful, and constantly are present in the physical environment. It should be noted that research shows that positive consequences are more powerful than negative consequences for improving behavior. The problem with punishment as a form of control is that it tends to only be effective when the threat of punishment is in the organism’s immediate vicinity. With negative reinforcement it’s different. The control is less obvious. The illusion of freedom is there. Punishments aren’t effective in the long-term as a form of control whereas negative reinforcements are, and this is because the nature of the control is entirely different.