The Effectiveness of Punishment in Children
The Effectiveness of Punishment in Children Punishment is something that has long been used by parents and teachers as a way to correct negative behavior in a child. However, do we ever stop and think about how effective this course of action might actually be? Psychological research conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) shows that punishment can work if done effectively (Hamilton, 2015). In general, there are two umbrellas that a punishment might fall under. Positive punishment is when an undesirable consequence is added following a behavior. An example of this could be the child receiving extra chores. Negative punishment is essentially “punishment by removal.” An example of this is taking away a child’s toys or video games in an attempt to decrease the likelihood of the negative behavior from occurring again. A study done by the APA (same article cited above) looked into the effectiveness of compromising, reasoning, and puni...