The idea that punishment causes emotional problems on individuals is false and misleading. The concept stands as a myth because it lacks scientific justification. Moreover, research on punishment as a corrective measure to deviant behavior contradicts the notion and confirms that when punishment is used in proportional measures, it helps in eradicating maladaptive behavior. It was earlier feared that subjecting someone to punishment takes an emotional toll on the individual due to the pain that accompanies it, but the fear lacks justification ( Lansford et al., 2017). Indeed, it is true that when punishment exceeds the mistake it intends to correct, it can have an emotional effect on the person. This is also true if the individual does not understand the purpose of the punishment being served. People have always believed that when punishment is meted out to an individual, the person is being targeted and victimized. Over time, the feelings of victimization develop into stress, and if not addressed, it degenerates into depression. The emotional toll that punishment inflicts on the individual explains why some people contemplate suicide when serving punishment. However, stress and depression have existed as independent conditions that can be caused by many factors. In this regard, associating stress and depression with punishment makes it a myth.
Punishment Needs to Meet One’s Personal Welfare
The main objective of behavior treatment is to help the person acquire functional skills that enhance independence. Indeed, both the immediate and long-term well-being of a person needs to be taken into consideration through active client participation. Ideally, effectuating or withholding treatment encompasses potential risks, Human Rights Committees, and Review Committees that play distinct roles in safeguarding the welfare of the client ( Houten et al., 1988). In essence, the article by Houten indicates that Peer Review Committees includes behavior experts who enforce professional standards to establish the clinical propriety of all the treatment programs. The article also notes that professional competence supported by human rights and peer reviews will guarantee behavior treatment is achieved within the dimensions of concern for client welfare. In addition, the article specifies that successful intervention needs ongoing assessment in the type of objective data to establish the effects of treatment to point out unanticipated challenges hastily, and if it necessitates then modification of the treatment plan come in handy.
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In terms of work, individuals must be able to distinguish between work and punishment since mistaking one for the other might lead to a negative attitude towards work. Essentially, it is common practice to have work serve as a form of punishment, especially if given as a way of making someone pay for a particular transgression. Punishment has been used in the past to encourage behavior extinction, especially those considered as maladaptive. Operant conditioning theory advanced by B.F. Skinner indicates that attaching punishment to a certain behavior serves to extinct it as the person involved will make an effort to change in a bid to avoid the negative repercussions that come with punishment.
Notably, punishment causes pain and discomfort to the individual. People will always strive to avoid factors that cause them pain and discomfort, which explains why if punishment is meted out to an individual for behaving in a certain way, the person will avoid the behavior to escape the punishment that comes along with the behavior. Over time, individuals will continue to avoid errant behavior, even if the punishment attached to it is withdrawn ( Blackman, 2017). Generally, punishment serves as a discouraging factor to negative behavior, and the many correctional facilities in the world use punishment in the rehabilitation of persons with deviant behaviors.
References
Blackman, D. E. (2017). Operant conditioning: an experimental analysis of behaviour . Routledge.
Houten, R., Axelrod, S., Bailey, J., Favell, J., Foxx, R., Lwata, B. and Lovaas, I. (1988). The right to effective behavioral treatment. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis . [online] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2741956/
Lansford, J. E., Cappa, C., Putnick, D. L., Bornstein, M. H., Deater-Deckard, K., & Bradley, R. H. (2017). Change over time in parents’ beliefs about and reported use of corporal punishment in eight countries with and without legal bans. Child Abuse & Neglect , 71 , 44-55.
