Contrast punishment and negative reinforcement. How do the effects of punishment and negative reinforcement compare with those of positive reinforcement in shaping behavior?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANS: Punishment is defined as the application of an aversive stimulus following a response in an effort to decrease the likelihood that the response will recur. Skinner said that punishment was ineffective in changing behavior from undesirable to desirable or from abnormal to normal. Positive reinforcement administered for desirable behaviors is much more effective than punishment. Most operant-conditioning applications involve positive reinforcement rather than punishment. The token-economy patients were not punished for failing to behave appropriately. Instead, they were reinforced when their behavior changed in positive ways.
Skinner stated, "What's wrong with punishments is that they work immediately, but give no long-term results. The responses to punishment are either the urge to escape, to counterattack, or a stubborn apathy. These are the bad effects you get in prisons or schools, or wherever punishments are used."

Negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment. It is defined as the strengthening of a response by the removal of an aversive stimulus. A negative reinforcer is an aversive or noxious stimulus, the removal of which is rewarding.
In the laboratory or classroom, an operant-conditioning situation can be established in which the unpleasant stimulus (such as a loud noise or an electric shock) will continue until the subject emits the desired response. As with positive reinforcement, the environment changes as a consequence of the behavior; in this case, the noxious stimulus will disappear.
We can see examples of negative reinforcement in everyday situations. A person may stop smoking to avoid the aversive stimulus of a nagging spouse or colleague. The aversive stimulus (the nagging) should cease when the desirable behavior (not lighting a cigarette in the home or office) is displayed. Skinner opposed using noxious stimuli to modify behavior, noting that the consequences were not as predictable as with positive reinforcement. Also, negative reinforcement does not always work, whereas positive reinforcement is more consistently effective.