Reward and Punishment

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the reinforcement theory, the theory that holds that consequences either increase or decrease a behavior. The paper reviews the positive and negative aspects of this theory and reviews arguments in favor and against this theory.

From the Paper:

"Still other researchers such as Baron (1977) state that punishment can work under certain conditions: "(a) if you can punish almost every time, (b) punish immediately, (c) punish in socially acceptable ways, and (d) do not punish harshly or become overly angry." Regardless of scientific evidence or suspected measures that would make punishment more effective, the intent of punishment in Reinforcement Theory is to suppress inappropriate behavior, not to solve underlying problems. Considering the scope of the application of punishment, it is, in many instances, neither practical nor desirable to replace punishment with a rewards system. Crime is an obvious example. True, suppression may only be short term with punishment as the only redress, but this is why the length of the prison sentence is designed to match the severity of the crime."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baron, R.A. (1977) Human Aggression NY: Plenum Press
• Driscoll, M.P. (1994). Psychology of learning for instruction. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
• Ormrod, J.E. (1999). Human learning (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall
• Shaffer, D. (1994). Social and Personality Development (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks and Cole.

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