tadamsmar comments on Book Review: Kazdin's The Everyday Parenting Toolkit - Less Wrong

8 Post author: Gunnar_Zarncke 31 March 2014 09:29PM

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Comment author: tadamsmar 08 April 2014 03:39:16PM *  1 point [-]

Another issue with punishment is that it amounts to an attempt to replace a behavior with nothing (as was pointed out the the main article). Behaviors exists because they have a function, but mere elimination means the function is not addressed. Tends to be better to replace the behavior with something that has the same function. For instance, replace an unwanted behavior that functions to get attention with a wanted behavior and give that attention, so that the wanted behavior fulfills the existing function.

And as you point out, punishment tends to train avoidance of the parent and sneakiness.

In summary, punishment has bad side effects and it's not a tool for building up a system of wanted behaviors.