Chapter 9 Learning and Conditioning 327course, ignoring a behavior requires patience and
is not always feasible. If your dog barks all day
and night, telling your neighbors that they should
ignore the racket will not go over well, even if you
explain that you learned all about the drawbacks of
punishment in your psychology class.)
Finally, when punishment must be applied,
these guidelines should be kept in mind: (1) It
should not involve physical abuse; instead, parents
can use time-outs and loss of privileges (negative
punishers); (2) it should be consistent; (3) it should
be accompanied by information about the kind
of behavior that would be appropriate; and (4) it
should be followed, whenever possible, by the re-
inforcement of desirable behavior.
Watch the Video Thinking Like a Psychologist:
Physical Punishment - You Decide! at MyPsychLaboffender is after. If a mother yells at a child who
is throwing a tantrum, the very act of yelling may
give him what he wants: a reaction from her. In
the schoolroom, teachers who scold children in
front of other students, thus putting them in the
limelight, may unwittingly reward the very misbe-
havior they are trying to eliminate.
Because of these drawbacks, most psycholo-
gists believe that punishment, especially when it’s
severe, is a poor way to eliminate unwanted behav-
ior. Consider spanking. A Canadian review of two
decades of research found that although spanking
may put a halt to a child’s annoying or dangerous
behavior in the short term, it backfires in the long
term, because children who are physically pun-
ished tend to become more aggressive and antiso-
cial over time (Durrant & Ensom, 2012). Spanking
is also associated with later mental health prob-
lems and slower cognitive development. No study
has ever established a link between physical disci-
pline and any positive outcome.
In special cases, as when mentally disabled
children are in immediate danger of seriously in-
juring themselves or a school bully is about to beat
up a classmate, temporary physical restraint may
be necessary. But even in these cases, alternatives
are often available. School programs have suc-
cessfully reduced school violence by teaching kids
problem-solving skills, emotional control, and con-
flict resolution, and by rewarding good behavior
(Hahn et al., 2008; Wilson & Lipsey, 2007). And
in some situations, the best way to discourage a
behavior—a child’s pleas for “just one more” video
game, a roommate’s interruptions when you’re
studying—is to extinguish it by ignoring it. (Of
As we all know, people often do things they’re not supposed to. Have you ever wondered why
so many people ignore warnings and threats of punishment?
Many harried parents habitually resort to physical pun-
ishment without being aware of its many negative con-
sequences. Based on your reading of this chapter, what
alternatives does this parent have?