Negative Consequences

Negative Consequences

Positive or rewarding outcomes are not the only consequences that govern
behavior. In many cases, people respond in order to avoid negative outcomes
or stop responding when doing so produces unpleasant events.

These situations correspond to the operant procedures of avoidance and
punishment. Many psychologists have advocated using reinforcement rather
than punishment to alter behavior, not because punishment is necessarily less
effective in theory but because it is usually less effective in practice. In order
for punishers to be effective, they should be (among other things) strong,
immediate, and consistent. This can be difficult to accomplish in practice.
In crime, for example, many offenses may have occurred without detection
prior to the punished offense, so punishment is not certain. It is also likely
that an individual’s court hearing, not to mention his or her actual sentence,
will be delayed by weeks or even months, so punishment is not immediate.
First offenses are likely to be punished less harshly than repeated offenses,
so punishment gradually increases in intensity. In the laboratory,
such a situation would produce an animal that would be quite persistent in
responding, despite punishment.

In addition, punishment can produce unwanted side effects, such as the
suppression of other behaviors, aggression, and the learning of responses to
avoid or minimize punishing consequences. Beyond this, punishment requires
constant monitoring by an external authority, whereas reinforcement
typically does not. For example, parents who want to punish a child for
having a messy room must constantly inspect the room to determine its
state. The child certainly is not going to point out a messy room that will lead
to punishment. On the other hand, if rewarded, the child will bring the neat
room to the parents’ attention. This is not to suggest that punishment
should necessarily be abandoned as one tool for controlling behavior.
Rather, the effectiveness of punishment, like reinforcement, can be predicted
on the basis of laboratory results.