Six Basic Principles Of Punishment

Punishment on Trial: Six Basic Principles of Punishment

Irvin Arias

National University Punishment on Trial: Six Basic Principles of Punishment This paper explores six basic principles of effective punishment in which are most relevant for consideration when using procedures that may function as punishment to change any child's given behavior and if these factors influence whether a given contingency functions as a Punisher.

There Must Exist A Behavioral Contingency

Behavioral contingency is the heart of outcome-oriented punishment. Defined as, a behavioral contingency is a reliable and temporal relationship between a specific behavior and a consequence. (Cipani. 2004) A brief example of a behavioral contingency would be: "If you don't do

The majority of the time the contingency of the behavior is unreliable because the consistency is not at a 100%. For example: "If you spray water on me you will go to time-out" in which is an inevitable contingency, compared to "if you spray water on me you, might go to time-out, unless say sorry, or start whining" in which is an unreliable contingency. In 2004, Cipani stated that the more likely the target behavior produces the intended consequence, the more likely a punishment effect will be achieved. Meaning if you fail to follow directions will reduce your chances of succeeding. Consistency is always necessary when you are implementing a behavioral intervention, if one is not consistent with the intervention then the plan has gone to waste. Also, immediacy plays an important role because it creates a bridge when the behavior has occurred and when the consequence is appealed to. In 2004, Cipani effective immediate consequence solves a life-threatening problem. He gave the example of rumination in which is the regurgitation of food or liquid once it is swallowed and then ejected from the mouth subsequently. Once the child started thrusting her tongue the nurse would squirt lemon juice in her mouth as the treatment was consistent the rumination had been eliminated and the child was back to being healthy. Therefore, if one escapes a Punisher then it is not

When it comes to punishers there is no set theory on which events will function as a punisher. Thus, if you ignore a behavior, it will not be the best approach for a parent to help the adolescent eliminate certain behaviors. In each situation there has to be a reinforcement and a punishing contingency. These factors influence how a contingency function as a Punisher, this rich history of findings about reinforcement and punishment effects in the laboratory, led to the application of these principles to help people with real life problems. (Cipani. 2004). If you implement a punishment contingency towards a child's bad behavior you must supplement the reinforcement with punishment in which would be rewarding for the child.

Conclusions

Therefore, the six basic principles of effective punishment in which are most relevant for consideration when using procedures that may function as punishment to change any child's given behavior where explained how the factors influenced the given contingency to function as a Punisher. Eliminating bad behavior should begin at an early age for a child by implementing the correct punishment and keeping consistent with the behavioral intervention. If the behavior has not improved as time passes, then the behavioral planned was not effective because of inconsistency, targeting the right reinforcer, etc. References

Cipani, E. (2004). Punishment on Trial. Reno. Context Press,