Reward & Punishment
What is it about?
Reward
You would probably agree that ideally your child is motivated to do challenging tasks without having to give them any external rewards in order for them to pursue their goals. This outcome can only be reached if we use these (external) rewards – if we use them at all – with caution because otherwise they can have a negative effect on your child's intrinsic motivation or your child's interest.
You would probably agree that ideally your child is motivated to do challenging tasks without having to give them any external rewards in order for them to pursue their goals. This outcome can only be reached if we use these (external) rewards – if we use them at all – with caution because otherwise they can have a negative effect on your child's intrinsic motivation or your child's interest.
"Positive reinforcement refers to the strengthening of a tendency to respond by virtue of the presentation of a pleasant event, called a positive reinforcer." (Kring, Johnson, Davison, & Neale, 2009, p. 23) |
"Negative reinforcement also strengthens a response, but it does so via the removal of an aversive event […]." (Kring et al., 2009, p. 23) |
First of all, it is important to distinguish between rewards as reinforcement and rewards as incentive. If the offer of reward precedes the target behavior and aims at motivating it, it is referred to as incentive. However, if the reward is used as a behavioral consequence, aiming at strengthening a behavior, we refer to it as reinforcement. Incentives lead to temporary compliance, on the long run however, they cause children to lose their interest in learning itself, in other words, it extinguishes intrinsic motivation. This so-called undermining effect of rewards suggests that extrinsic rewards can negatively affect a person’s interests. One of the reasons is that rewards signal something that is not interesting or something that you normally wouldn’t do if you hadn’t been given a reward. That is why it is important to avoid tangible rewards for something that the child finds already interesting. Rewards may also discourage risk-taking and hinder creativity. Furthermore, they are a way of controlling someone and who likes to be manipulated?! (cf. Alfie Kohn, 1999)
Nevertheless, it has to be said that reward might not be bad at all times. If appropriately applied, rewards can enhance motivation and performance. For instance, when the reward is given unexpectedly as reinforcement or when the initial interest is low, it can increase academic engagement. Also, it has to be noted that praise can increase intrinsic motivation by being informational. Another decisive factor is contingency of reward. It is important that the reward given depends on the quality of performance, in other words, a certain standard of performance is needed for being given a reward.
How to apply in everyday life?
How to apply (or not apply) rewards in everyday life
So, to avoid the negative effects of rewards, it is important to keep in mind a few guidelines:
So, to avoid the negative effects of rewards, it is important to keep in mind a few guidelines:
- Make sure you don’t use incentives for activities your child already finds interesting. You may use incentives to guide and motivate activities that lack interest.
- Avoid tangible incentives, especially for just doing something your child wants to do anyway.
- Notice that in order to give material incentives to your child a certain reasonable standard of performance is needed so that it is a reward for an actual accomplishment.
- There’s of course nothing wrong with giving your child occasionally small material gifts that are not explicitly linked with a certain “good” behavior.
- Instead of giving rewards, you may show appreciation and encouragement. The difference here is that appreciation is neither conditional nor pre-determined, instead it is an expression of genuine feelings for your child. So, encourage appropriate behavior for the sake of “doing the right thing” and not in order to receive a reward.
- Help your children to learn to manage themselves, their feelings, their behavior and their impulses. Try to give them a certain control over their life so that they can judge their behavior on their own.
- What also makes rewards redundant is finding the appropriate level of challenge. If your child manages to accomplish something that was not too easy but a bit of a challenge for them, that feeling of victory will be much more effective in motivating your child than any reward you could have been.
Goals
Reward
Your child should then be highly intrinsically motivated, they will do things because they are interested in what they do and not in order to get a reward for it. Being intrinsically motivated will also improve productivity. Your child will want to reach their personal goals they set for themselves. Reaching them will then give them a feeling of competence and freedom. |
What is it about?
Punishment
Punishment is a way of controlling your child’s behavior. Positive punishment works by presenting a negative/aversive stimulus as a behavioral consequence which makes the behavior less likely to happen in the future, while negative punishment is the removal of a positive/desired stimulus in reaction to a behavior which results in a decrease in frequency of that behavior. Using punishment as a way to achieve goals, such as high standards of achievement, productivity or responsibility, does in most cases not work. Instead it results in low self-worth and discontent. It might only make your child angry and provide a model for the use of power. Another thing to consider is that punishments often distract from the important issue: If a child is banned from watching TV after having punched their sister, it will not teach them why it was wrong to hurt their sister because behavior and punishment are in no way related to each other. Instead it will only make the child mad at their parents for not letting them watch TV.
Punishment is a way of controlling your child’s behavior. Positive punishment works by presenting a negative/aversive stimulus as a behavioral consequence which makes the behavior less likely to happen in the future, while negative punishment is the removal of a positive/desired stimulus in reaction to a behavior which results in a decrease in frequency of that behavior. Using punishment as a way to achieve goals, such as high standards of achievement, productivity or responsibility, does in most cases not work. Instead it results in low self-worth and discontent. It might only make your child angry and provide a model for the use of power. Another thing to consider is that punishments often distract from the important issue: If a child is banned from watching TV after having punched their sister, it will not teach them why it was wrong to hurt their sister because behavior and punishment are in no way related to each other. Instead it will only make the child mad at their parents for not letting them watch TV.
How to apply in everyday life?
How to apply (or not apply) punishments in everyday life
- Instead of really punishing your child try to use natural or logical consequences to teach them a lesson. Natural consequences are for example getting a bad grade for not doing their homework. Logical consequences are consequences that are directly related to the child’s behavior and are easily comprehensible for the child and justified. This could be for instance making them clean up their own mess or setting an earlier bedtime the evening after they stayed up late.
- Define clear rules in advance so that your child knows exactly what is allowed and what is not allowed at home. Also, make sure they understand why something is forbidden, as certain restrictions are mostly in your child’s best interest, for example their safety, and not just for the sake of teasing them.
- In addition, empathize with your child and try to understand why they acted out.
Goals
Punishment
Your children should then know exactly what they are permitted to do and if they violate the rules anyway, they know that they have to take responsibility for it and live with the consequences. Therefore, they should feel in control over their behavior and grow up to be autonomous and self-confident individuals. |