Human psychology is, perhaps, one of the most interesting subjects of study. We all learn from our experiences which shape our behavior. These experiences are diverse with respect to different stimuli, which can be easily manipulated to change human behavior. On the most basic level, it is positive and negative conditioning, through reward and punishment, respectively. But, which one is more effective and works better on behavior? Let’s find out.

Is Reward Better than Punishment?

YES. A person is motivated to learn new behavior if there is an opportunity to gain incentives. Since, a reward is a great way of expressing appreciation or acknowledging the efforts of another person in a positive light, rewards are better than punishments! However, for rewards to be effective, three conditions must be fulfilled;

  • The subject MUST be interested in the reward
  • The reward must be given AFTER accomplishment of the desired action
  • Performance must EXCEED normal standards

The failure of achievement of desired results occurs due to inability to fulfill all the three requisites. Also, it must be noted that the rewards presented not only cause behavior modification, they also lead to creation of values which set the trend for rewards that must be bestowed in future as a part of positive reinforcement.

The Pros of Rewarding
The opportunity to give a reward can also be used to optimum advantage by teaching values that leave a permanent imprint on a person’s behavior and hence, can be observed in the long term. By doing so, you can ensure that the benefits of rewarding are not limited to a short span of time. For instance, an employee works in the company for the reward of an attractive monthly salary. Till the time it is valuable to him, he will continue to strive for productivity and optimum performance in order to achieve maximum rewards. However, when the salary loses its appeal due to any reason, he will start to slack and may even quit his job himself. Similarly, bright students often achieve good results for the incentive of top grades, whereas, average or below average students may not be attracted by the pride attached with an ‘A’ grade. In such a scenario, using rewards to motivate students to perform well is a good option rather than condemning them for their failure to do so.

The Cons of Rewarding
Rewards can also have negative effects. While the above examples illustrate the occurrence of a pleasant event to reward an activity, negative rewards refer to removal of a negative object or preventing the occurrence of a negative event in lieu of desired performance. This is also called negative reinforcement (not punishment). On the other hand, a punishment only helps to decrease the incidence of an action or behavior by enforcing an undesirable stimulus. However, the effectiveness of punishments can be deduced from the findings of a study on this matter by Tulane University. It was found that children who were spanked at the age of 3 years became more aggressive as observed after 2 years. This, perhaps, explains why most couples end up fighting more in a relationship once either partner starts nagging. The study revealed that punishments such as spanking are an ineffective method for behavior modification in children aged below 12 years and should not be used, otherwise they act as a stimulus for bad behavior in the later years.

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The Impact of Punishment
But, if punishment is used among children older than that or in young adults, it brings anxiety based along the lines of “what will happen if I don’t?”. For alteration in behavior to take place and new behavior to be adopted, the source of stimuli employed must be consistently exposed to the targeted subject. If it is inconsistent, behavior may change only temporarily or not at all. But, an inconsistent reward or punishment may be effective when it comes from a powerful or a highly authoritative source. Otherwise, a favorable outcome to be achieved is generally achieved from rewards because most people are inclined to learn from positive experiences faster than negative ones. Punishments harbor negative feelings and often end up being a 100% failure, especially among kids. People often try to resist any form of control. Punishments can only bring forced discipline which ends up backfiring at some point when a person cannot handle the stress and goes into a ‘fight or flight’ mode. If you are one of those parents who use means of punishment, especially physical, to control your children, you may be hampering their mental development and growth of their IQ! In a debate over reward vs. punishment, rewards emerge as a superior technique of behavior modification and win hands down.