You know exactly what it is and what this learning procedure is used for. In this post, we are going to find out what positive punishment entails and what is needed to make it effective.
We are going to delve into those positive punishments, which are usually applied to negative behaviors. These procedures, can be applied both at home and in the educational system. Of course, you have to know how to apply them so that they are effective and educational for children.
What is positive punishment?
It is a behavior modification technique.. This technique is based on behavioral theories, and on the idea that the consequences after incorrect behavior must work so that it does not become frequent.
Punishment is responding to misbehavior with an unintended and firm consequence. For this punishment to be effective before the child who has carried it out, it must be immediate and unavoidable, as well as forceful.
In positive punishment, an annoying stimulus appears, unwanted by young people. This punishment can be presented by different stimuli, actions or even objects.
Characteristics of positive punishment
The main characteristic of this type of punishment is that if it is done correctly in the face of a negative action, it is very likely that said action will not be repeated. The chances that the person will do it again decrease.
Positive punishment implies that an unpleasant stimulus is applied, an unintended consequence. It should not be confused with negative punishments, in this case it is acted upon by removing a positive stimulus.
This case of positive punishment, we see it when it is given a scolds a person who is doing something inappropriate. We are showing you the negative consequences of your actions.
In this learning mechanism, this type of punishment can appear unconsciously. That is, this punishment can be given without anyone, without a third party intervening.
In this example you can see clearly, I burned my hand with the hair straighteners because I shouldn't have touched them. Positive punishment has appeared without anyone applying it to me.
An important aspect of this type of punishment is that so that the results process, the person on whom that correction is being applied, does not have to realize. That is, the individual is not aware of what is happening.
examples of positive punishment
Examples of positive punishment are going to divide into three different categories; social, natural and educational.
social positive punishment
The objective of these positive punishments is to achieve a good coexistence.
An example of this is traffic fines.. When we speed, or park in a bad manner or in a place that does not correspond to us, the police penalize us with both an economic fine and even take points off our license. This consequence will help us to ensure that such behavior does not happen again.
another punishment, much more extreme, is the punishment punishable by jail. For people who have committed a serious infraction or something illegal, jail becomes, in many cases, positive punishment. It is intended that individuals reduce the probability of breaking rules or committing illegal acts, using this punishment.
positive natural punishments
In this case, we refer to the punishments that occur unconsciously. We have talked about them before, when interacting with a specific element, an unwanted punishment is suffered.
A clear example of this type of punishment is when, for example, we are cooking food with the oven on and we are going to take out the tray without protecting our hands, what happens is that our hand suffers from a burn.
educational positive punishment
They may be applied by parents, educators, tutors, etc. for children to change their behavior.
We see some of the most common cases in the classroom when a child has misbehaved during school hours, and his tutor forces him to stay in the punishment room at the end of classes. The student will understand that his bad behavior only takes him to the punishment room.
In our day to day there are many positive punishments that we can experience and they change our way of behaving and acting, and we do not realize that these corrections that we make are for suffering a positive punishment.