Side effects of punishing children.
When we forbid our son to go to his favorite singer's show or to use the computer for a few days because of his actions, we are trying to penalize his bad behavior. That is, sanctioning your children seeks to eliminate a series of unwanted actions. Its main advantages are two. On the one hand, it has a very rapid effect and, on the other, it eliminates inappropriate behavior and reorganizes the desired ones.
However, the punishment of children produces a series of subsequent side effects that are often not perceived by adults. This series of reactions, especially emotional and behavioral nature, makes us think that perhaps punishment is not the best way to end or reduce the frequency of bad behavior.
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Positive punishment
This control technique is used to suppress certain unwanted behaviors. In particular, let's focus on what is known as positive punishment. That is, the delivery of an aversive stimulus, understood as one that has unpleasant consequences for the recipient.
An example of this type of conditioning could be when a child bites the nails continuously and a very bitter product is applied to stop doing this. So, every time you put your fingers in your mouth, you will have an unpleasant sensation. If it is repeated many times, it will end up abandoning the habit so as not to suffer with the bitter taste.
The effectiveness of punishing children
For the correction to be as effective as possible, it is necessary to take into account a series of variables:
- Intensity: the relationship between intense punishment and its effectiveness is simple.
Duration: if the punishment extends over time, it seems to be more effective. - Contiguity: the fact that the punishment immediately after the attitude or behavior should be eliminated. If the application of the aversive stimulus is prolonged, the effectiveness decreases.
- Contingency: it should not be withdrawn until the bad behavior ceases. If it ceases to be punished before it has completely disappeared, there will be a short-term and very rapid recovery of behavior. When children test us with questions like "take me out of punishment?", You have to know how to say "no".
- stimulating experience: if the punishment is new for the child, which has a much more pronounced effect than if it is family.
- Alternative: it is important that the individual has an alternative response to the substitute penalty.
In addition, the child, as far as possible, the damage caused by his behavior. For example, if a child is playing at home with the ball, when her parents told her not to do it and, unintentionally, she breaks a glass, she must clean, sweep the pieces and collect all the pieces of pottery.
Disadvantages of punishment
The results of instrumental behaviorism (response - consequence) are very useful in practice. People act guided by motivations and interests, tending to repeat behaviors or attitudes for which they receive a reward. However, when this philosophy is transferred to children's learning, punishment is not always the most convenient way to educate. We talked about some of its disadvantages to follow.
Emotional responses
The emotional state of a person who has just been punished is, in general, quite frustrating. It is associated with negative thoughts against the person who manages and generates a feeling of helplessness. Therefore, a series of emotional responses can be produced, such as crying, screaming, kicking, sticking ... and even aggressive behavior. And not only directed to the person who administered the punishment, but also to the others who are present.
Stimulus signal
The person who administers the punishment and other environmental stimuli can become unpleasant for the child, becoming warning signs that an unpleasant consequence is approaching. Therefore, sanctioned behavior does not appear in its presence, but in its absence. This side effect is the behavior of the prototype in the classroom: children behave badly when there is no teacher in the classroom and stop making a mess when someone enters the room.
Substitution for other inappropriate behaviors
Punishing children can also promote the replacement of penalized behavior by another equally undesirable one. That is why it is so important to apply the sanction along with an alternative so that the child can know what is right and what is being punished. Although punishments serve to eliminate behaviors, their application provokes evasion behaviors and the avoidance of the same consequences of the same.
"No" to physical punishment
The person who applies the teaching can be exalted. Of course, if the punishment is physical and involves the use of a patch or slider, the effect is doubly negative. Not only because it is punishable by law, but because parents are models for their children and the example that is being given to the child when hitting on it is terrible. Children learn everything they are taught, including bad habits and erroneous behavior, even if they are corrective and have the purpose of correcting their behavior.
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Moderation and discipline
When there are several possible answers, and it is not desirable to want to finish, it is possible to reward the performance of any of the other answers, if they are incompatible with the functioning of the undesirables. This method, known as differential reinforcement of other behaviors (RDO), generally provides better long-term results than the punishment of the undesirable response.
It is important to educate children in a constant exchange of rewards or prohibitions, because they will not learn to value being disciplined. That is, they will not do homework because they consider it useful for the future, but because they know that they will be able to leave the weekend with their friends. This can even give results, but these will have a good dose of extrinsic motivation, memorizing without learning and looking only for the prize.
Consequently, the punishment must be applied with care and moderation, since the excess can make the child an antisocial being.
