fei75766_ch16_495-533.indd 510  02/06/20 01:34 PM
Part VI    Learning-Cognitive Theories510
Effects of Punishment  Thecontrol ofhuman andanimal behavior isbetter served 
bypositive andnegative reinforcement thanbypunishment. Theeffects ofpunish -
ment arenotopposite those ofreinforcement. When thecontingencies ofreinforce -
ment arestrictly controlled, behavior canbeprecisely shaped andaccurately 
predicted. With punishment, however, nosuchaccuracy ispossible. Thereason for
thisdiscrepancy issimple. Punishment ordinarily isimposed toprevent people from 
acting inaparticular way.When itissuccessful, people willstopbehaving inthat
manner, buttheystillmust dosomething. What theydocannot beaccurately pre-
dicted because punishment doesnottellthem what theyshould do;itmerely sup-
presses thetendency tobehave intheundesirable fashion. Consequently, oneeffect 
ofpunishment istosuppress behavior. Forexample, ifaboyteases hisyounger 
sister, hisparents canmake himstopbyspanking him,butunfortunately thispun-
ishment willnotimprove hisdisposition toward hissister. Itmerely suppresses 
teasing temporarily orwhile inthepresence ofhisparents.
Another effect ofpunishment istheconditioning of a negative feeling byassociat -
ingastrong aversive stimulus withthebehavior being punished. Intheabove illustra -
tion,ifthepainofthespanking isstrong enough, itwillinstigate aresponse (crying, 
withdrawal, attack) thatisincompatible withthebehavior ofteasing ayounger sib-
ling.Inthefuture, when theboythinks about mistreating hisyounger sister, that
thought mayelicit aclassical conditioned response, suchasfear,anxiety, guilt, or
shame. Thisnegative emotion thenserves toprevent theundesirable behavior from 
recurring. Lamentably, itoffers nopositive instruction tothechild.
Athird outcome ofpunishment isthespread of its effects. Anystimulus associ -
atedwiththepunishment maybesuppressed oravoided. Inourexample, theboy
maysimply learn toavoid hisyounger sister, stayaway from hisparents, ordevelop 
negative feelings toward thepaddle ortheplace where thepaddling occurred. Asa
result, theboy’s behavior toward hisfamily becomes maladaptive. Yetthisinappropri -
atebehavior serves thepurpose ofpreventing future punishment. Skinner recognized 
theclassical Freudian defense mechanisms aseffective means ofavoiding painandits
attendant anxiety. Thepunished person mayfantasize, project feelings ontoothers, 
rationalize aggressive behaviors, ordisplace them toward other people oranimals.
Conditioned and Generalized Reinforcers
Food isareinforcement forhumans andanimals because itremoves acondition of
deprivation. Buthowcanmoney, which cannot directly remove acondition ofdepri -
vation, bereinforcing? Theanswer isthatmoney isaconditioned reinforcer .Condi -
tioned reinforcers (sometimes called secondary reinforcers) arethose environmental 
stimuli thatarenotbynature satisfying butbecome sobecause theyareassociated 
withsuchunlearned orprimary reinforcers asfood, water, sex,orphysical comfort. 
Money isaconditioned reinforcer because itcanbeexchanged foragreat variety of
primary reinforcers. Inaddition, itisageneralized reinforcer because itisassociated 
withmore thanoneprimary reinforcer.
Skinner (1953) recognized fiveimportant generalized reinforcers thatsustain 
much ofhuman behavior: attention, approval, affection, submission ofothers, and
tokens (money). Each canbeusedasreinforcers inavariety ofsituations. Attention, 
forexample, isaconditioned generalized reinforcer because itisassociated withsuchFinal PDF to printer