In class the last couple weeks, we have discussed positive punishment and reinforcement, as well as negative punishment and reinforcement. These are all different ways to encourage a desired behavior (via reinforcement) or to discourage an unwanted behavior (via punishment). Positive reinforcement adds a reward as a means of encouraging said desired behavior (i.e. giving a child a treat for completing a chore), whereas negative reinforcement removes an unwanted stimulus to encourage the wanted behavior (i.e. when your mom quits nagging after you have taken out the garbage). Positive punishment adds an unwanted stimulius as a means of eliminating an undesired or unwated behavior (timeouts, spankings, etc.), and negative punishment takes away a desired stimulus to discourage undesired behavior (i.e. losing privileges, getting your phone taken away, etc.).
I think everyone at some point or another has experienced some form of both punishment and reinforcement. As a kid, I know my parents positively reinforced good grades each marking period with a reward, like a movie or toy I wanted, and took my sisters and I out to celebrate at the end of each school year to dinner, dessert, or a fun activity of our choice as a way to show their appreciation for all our hard work. That being said, I also faced punishment as a kid. When I misbehaved I had to sit in timeout, or I wasn’t allowed to watch TV, or had to go to bed early. As I got older, this turned into having to give my parents my phone or not being allowed to go places with my friends.
I have also been on the other end of punishment and reinforcing. I did a lot of babysitting in high school, and one summer I consistently babysat a family with 3 small children, ranging from ages 2 to 8. The 2 year old was in the process of potty training, and was really struggling. When I started babysitting her, I made it a point to give her a special treat like a popsicle or a little piece of candy whenever she asked me to take her to the bathroom as a way to encourage her to do it more often. I didn’t punish her when she didn’t, but she quickly realized she would get a treat when she asked me to take her to the bathroom and did it on a regular basis.
This post on Positive and Negative Reinforcement and Punishment was very well done. The article defined and provided very good examples of using both positive and negative reinforcement to encourage, strengthen, and increase desired behaviors. The author also included strong examples of using positive and negative punishments along with an aversive event to discourage and decrease behavior that is deemed undesirable. I thought that the author’s details on using reinforcement rather than punishment when babysitting was particularly well done. During the class lecture, we also learned that some punishments can serve as both positive and negative punishments. One example of this type of punishment is a parking ticket. When the police issue a ticket to a person for a parking violation, it is a positive punishment because it is administering an aversive stimulus. However, when the person actually pays the parking ticket, it is a negative punishment because the payment is withdrawing a desirable stimulus from the person – in this case, money.