Effects on Children of Classroom Punishment

Skinner (1971) has argued for decades that punishment is an ineffective and inhumane behavior modification strategy: positive reinforcement of desirable behaviors and non-reinforcement of undesirable behaviors lead to much better long-term results. The latter two methods also leave no emotional scars on the person whose behavior is being modified. Punishment, on the other hand, creates only short-term behavior changes and gives the child a poor role model (Kindsvatter & Levine, 1980; Hill, 1982). When a child is punished, the first thing he learns is that it is appropriate to use one's power to force someone weaker to do one's bidding. The second thing he learns is, of course, not to get caught when he breaks rules. He does not learn not to break rules and not to hurt others. Thus, al

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rce competition not only with her mother, but with her older sister. The father states, "Lisa just isn't a good kid like her older sister - and I wish she'd stop acting like a baby." This statement is provocative because it shows not only Lisa's problem (her father's preference for her sister), but also her chosen coping mechanism, namely regression. Lisa's regressive tendencies can be seen in her excessively oral behavior (e.g. thumb-sucking and sweater-chewing), and in her immature crying and tantrums. Freud would also probably speculate that her attachment to her finger puppet "Smurfles" demonstrates a compulsion to fill up orifices, but I hesitate to give this interpretation much credence. An Ericksonian interpretation of Lisa's behavior would also emphasize her developmental stage. On this model, Lisa would be operating in the Initiative vs. Guilt stage, and that she probably had negative resolutions to the crises of her two previous developmental stages: Basic Trust vs, Mistrust and Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Erickson, 1963). A negative outcome of stage one (Basic Trust vs. Mistrust) could have come about if the mother were too busy with the older sister to adequately meet Lisa's needs. This lack of nurturing
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Approximate Word count = 1887
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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