Rewards are Better than Punishment: Here’s Why

Why rewards are more effective than punishment--with children.

Published on September 25, 2008 by Jay Belsky, Ph.D. in A Family Affair

Many a child developmental professional will advise parents to try to ignore children's bad behavior and
reward their good behavior. As most parent's know, this is sometimes easier said than done. After all,
bad behavior can be so irritating that it is difficult not to respond to, that is, to ignore. It takes real
discipline.

Some parents might object to ignoring bad behavior because they see it, understandably perhaps, as
their responsibility to correct the child's misbehavior. Ignoring it may seem like tolerating if not
rewarding it and thus failing to do one's duty as a parent.

Despite how reasonable this sounds, it turns out that most experts, including of the Super Nanny
variety, are correct. Rewards are more effective than punishment. And some Dutch neuroscientists have
just found out why that seems to be the case. See
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/09/25/from.12.years.onward....

Their work involved 8/9- and 11/12-year olds who were given the opportunity to learn some basic tasks
by means of positive, rewarding feedback or negative, "punishing" feedback. Specifically, all children
were given a computer task which required them to discover rules and when they correctly inferred a
rule, as revealed by choices they made in the task, a check--positive reward--appeared on the screen;
but if their choice indicated that they had not correctly figured out the rule of the task, then a cross--
punishment--appeared on the screen. Repeated running of the task showed that performance improved
substantially more when the feedback was positive in the case of the younger children, telling them they
did well when they did, rather than negative, telling them that they did poorly when they did. Just the
opposite proved true in the case of older children, who functioned just like young adults aged 18-25 who
were also tested. That is, negative feedback improved performance more for these individuals than did
positive feedback.

Because the cognitive tasks central to this research were administered while the children and young
adults were in a brain scanning machine, brain imaging revealed that brain areas responsible for
cognitive control and located in the cerebral cortex seemed to play a role in why younger and older
children learned so differently. That is, these brain control centers were more strongly activated in the
face of negative feedback in the case of older children and adults, but more strongly activated when
receiving positive feedback in the case of younger children. It is almost as if for the younger children
positive feedback registered more strongly, whereas for the older children, just the opposite proved
true.
Why might this be so? If you think about it for a moment, as the investigators did, it becomes apparent
that information which stipulates that you did something wrong is more complicated than information
stipulating that you did something well. So younger children may simply have an easier time processing
simpler, positive, rewarding information than negative feedback. As the authors noted, "Learning from
mistakes is more complex than carrying on in the same way as before. You have to ask yourself what
precisely went wrong and how it was possible." That is, it takes more analysis to figure out that what
was done is mistaken than that it is correct.

What still remains unknown is exactly what accounts for the change in brain functioning and how it
occurs. Do new connections within or between brain regions emerge during the transition to
adolescence? Do hormones associated with puberty play a role? Like all good research, this elegant
work raises new questions at the same time it reveals new things.

But the bottom line seems to be that we now have a better idea why rewards work better than
punishment with pre-adolescent children. So if it is an explanation you need for why you should reward
good behavior more than punish bad behavior, at least with pre-adolescent children, now you have one.
The task that still remains, of course, is regulating one's own irritability, frustration and thus behavior in
the face of annoying child behavior so that we can ignore it.
Early Childhood Development & Child Discipline

Jan 18, 2010 | By Juniper Russo Tarascio

During the toddler and preschool years, children experience a rapid increase in curiosity and physical
agility. Because they are incapable of understanding consequences of their curiosity-driven actions,
young children can be difficult to discipline. Parenting expert Dr. William Sears notes that structure and
communication are critical in facilitating a healthy discipline technique. Parents and caregivers can
enable a safe, structured environment while preserving a child's emotional and intellectual well being.

Techniques

In Western cultures, the most common forms of discipline involve systems of punishments and rewards.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends four basic forms of punishment for young children:
time out, withholding privileges, logical consequences and natural consequences. The AAP indicates
that, during early childhood, punishments should be administered immediately so that children are able
to connect bad behaviors and their consequences. However, some parenting experts, including Alfie
Kohn and Barbara Coloroso, believe that punishments and rewards are ineffective discipline techniques;
they contend that these systems fail to promote good behavior.

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Function

Appropriate discipline techniques are essential aspects of early childhood development because they
provide children with structure and limitations. Early childhood discipline helps to prevent accidents and
safety hazards; it also enables children to understand that their actions have consequences. Young
children have a strong natural desire to explore the world around them and to establish the limits of
acceptable behavior. Children crave structure and require guidance from their caregivers so that they
can understand and recognize behavioral boundaries.

Controversies

Corporal punishment techniques, including spankings, are popular methods for disciplining young
children. However, expert organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics and American
Psychological Association, recommend against this practice. Spankings are harmful to a child's emotional
development, especially when they are administered at an early age. The American Psychological
Association declares that corporal punishment is ineffective and emotionally traumatizing; it encourages
children to use aggression and physical force to control others. These organizations also note that no
study has demonstrated that spankings effectively alter a child's behavior.

Expert Insight

The term "discipline" is often used synonymously with "punishment", but discipline techniques do not
necessarily involve systems of punishment and reward. Child development experts Alfie Kohn and
Barbara Coloroso contend that punishments and rewards are manipulative and counterproductive; no
study has conclusively demonstrated that these common techniques actually facilitate positive behavior.
Kohn and Coloroso argue that communication--not bribes and threats--are useful for proactively
enabling positive behavior in children. Dr. William Sears also opposes manipulative discipline
techniques: "It is not what we are doing to our children, it is what we are doing for and with them, and
what they are doing for themselves. "

Considerations

No discipline technique works universally. Some children may thrive in a very flexible environment,
whereas others may need the security of a strict routine. Children with special needs often require
specialized discipline techniques if a language delay or psychological disorder hinders the effectiveness
discipline methods. Caregivers should consult a pediatrician or child development expert regarding the
safety and efficacy of common discipline techniques. A specialist may be able to provide advice tailored
to suit the needs of an individual child.

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References

American Academy of Pediatrics: Discipline

Dr. William Sears: Toddler Discipline

American Psychological Association: Corporal Punishment