Skinner offered three reasons why punishments should not be administered: they only work temporarily, they create conditioned stimuli that lead to _, and they reinforce escape from the conditioned situation in the future.
a. negative emotional reactions
b. neutral emotional reactions
c. no emotional reaction
d. positive emotional reactions
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is a. negative emotional reactions.
B.F. Skinner, a renowned behaviorist, argued that punishment is often ineffective in the long term for several reasons. One of these reasons is that it tends to create conditioned stimuli that evoke negative emotional reactions. These emotional reactions arise because the punishment, as an aversive stimulus, is linked to the environment or the situation in which it occurs. Over time, the individual may develop negative feelings such as fear, anger, or anxiety toward the situation, which diminishes the effectiveness of the punishment.
Punishment can also lead to avoidance behavior. When individuals associate a particular setting or action with punishment, they are more likely to try to escape or avoid that situation in the future. This avoidance becomes a form of reinforced escape behavior, meaning the individual learns that getting away from the situation prevents further negative experiences.
Skinner believed that positive reinforcement (rewarding desirable behaviors) was more effective than punishment because it encourages the repetition of desirable behaviors without the emotional baggage and negative associations created by punishment. By reinforcing behaviors that are socially acceptable or desirable, individuals are more likely to continue those behaviors over time.
In contrast, punishments often provide a temporary solution. While they may suppress an undesirable behavior for a short period, they don’t necessarily address the underlying cause of the behavior, and once the punishment stops, the undesirable behavior is likely to re-emerge. This makes punishment an unreliable method for achieving long-term behavioral change. Skinner’s observations contributed to the development of behavior modification techniques that focus on reinforcing positive behavior rather than punishing undesirable behavior.