Punishment

Instrumental and Operant Conditioning: Learning the Consequences of Behavior
187
SUPERSTITION AND PARTIAL
REINFORCEMENT Partial reinforce-
ment helps to sustain superstitious athletic rituals—such as a fixed sequence
of actions prior to hitting a golf ball or
shooting a free throw in basketball. If the
ritual has preceded success often enough,
failure to execute it may upset the player
and disrupt performance. Los Angeles
Dodgers infielder Nomar Garciaparra
tugs, loosens, and retightens each batting
glove after every pitch. Those who watch
sports have their superstitious rituals,
too. One Green Bay Packers football fan
said, “I have a certain outfit I wear. I will
not drink anything but water when I’m
watching. . . . And I have a touchdown
dance I have to do or they won’t score
again” (Pearson, 2000).
that activation of brain systems that use the chemical dopamine is associated with the
pleasure of many stimuli, including food, music, sex, the uncertainty of gambling, and
some addictive drugs such as cocaine (Berns et al., 2001; Blood & Zatorre, 2001; Ciccocioppo, Sanna, & Weiss, 2001; Reuter et al., 2005; Tobler, Fiorillo, & Schultz, 2005).
Current research suggests that complex and widespread patterns of brain activity are
involved in our response to reinforcers, allowing us to enjoy them, to learn to want
them, and to learn how to get them (Montague, Hyman, & Cohen, 2004; Robinson
et al., 2005).
Punishment
punishment The presentation of an
aversive stimulus or the removal of a
pleasant one following some behavior.
Positive and negative reinforcement increase the frequency of a response, either by presenting something pleasurable or by removing something that is unpleasant. In contrast, punishment reduces the frequency of an operant behavior by presenting an
unpleasant stimulus or removing a pleasant one. Shouting “No!” and swatting your cat
when it begins chewing on your plants is an example of the kind of punishment that
presents an aversive stimulus following a response. Taking away a child’s TV privileges
because of rude behavior is a second kind of punishment—sometimes called penalty—
that removes a positive stimulus (see Figure 5.11).
Punishment is often confused with negative reinforcement, but they are quite different. Just remember that reinforcement of any type always strengthens behavior,
whereas punishment always weakens behavior. If shock is turned off when a rat presses
a lever, this is negative reinforcement. It increases the probability that the rat will press
the lever when shock occurs again. But if shock is turned on when the rat presses the
lever, this is punishment. The rat will be less likely to press the lever again.
Although punishment can change behavior, it has some drawbacks (Gershoff, 2002).
First, it does not “erase” an undesirable behavior. It merely suppresses the behavior
temporarily. In fact, people often repeat punished acts when they think they can do so
without getting caught. Second, punishment can produce unwanted side effects. If you
punish a child for swearing, the child may associate the punisher with the punishment
and end up fearing you. Third, punishment is often ineffective unless it is given immediately after the undesirable behavior and each time that behavior occurs. If a child gets
188
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5 .1 1
Two Kinds of Punishment
In one form of punishment, a behavior is
followed by an aversive, or unpleasant,
stimulus. In a second form of punishment,
sometimes called penalty, a pleasant stimulus is removed following a behavior. In
either case, punishment decreases the
chances that the behavior will occur in the
future. Now you decide: When a toddler
reaches toward an electric outlet, and her
father says “NO!” and gently taps her
hand, is that punishment or negative reinforcement? If you said punishment, you
are right, because it will reduce the likelihood of her touching outlets in the future.
Learning
PUNISHMENT 1
Behavior
You touch a hot iron.
Presentation of
an unpleasant
stimulus
Your hand is burned.
Frequency of
behavior decreases
You no longer touch
hot irons.
Removal of a
pleasant stimulus
The ice cream falls
on the ground.
Frequency of
behavior decreases
You're not as careless
with the next cone.
PUNISHMENT 2 (Penalty)
Behavior
You're careless with
your ice cream cone.
into the cookie jar and enjoys a few cookies before being discovered and punished, the
effect of the punishment will be greatly reduced. Fourth, physical punishment can
become aggression, even abuse, if given in anger. And because children tend to imitate
what they see, frequent punishment may lead them to behave aggressively themselves
(Gilbert, 1997). Finally, punishment lets people know they have done something wrong,
but it doesn’t specify what they should do instead. An “F” on a term paper means that
the assignment was poorly done, but the grade alone tells the student nothing about
how to improve.
When used properly, however, punishment can be a valuable tool (Baumrind,
Larzelere, & Cowan, 2002). As shown in Figure 5.12, for example, it can help children
who suffer from certain developmental disorders or who purposely injure themselves
(Flavell et al., 1982). Punishment is especially effective when a few guidelines are
FIGURE
5.12
Life-Saving Punishment
This child suffered from chronic ruminative
disorder, a condition in which he vomited
everything he ate. At left, the boy was approximately one year old and had been
vomiting for four months. At right is the
same child thirteen days after punishment
with electric shock had eliminated the
vomiting response; his weight had increased 26 percent. He was physically and
psychologically healthy when tested six
months, one year, and two years later
(Lang & Melamed, 1969).
Source: Lang & Melamed (1969).