Question

Martha doesn’t want her young son to touch the heating stove. The stove is too large to be moved out of his way, so he has to learn not to touch it—even when Martha isn’t looking. Based on the concept of insufficient justification, which of the following approaches is likely to be most effective in helping the boy internalize the choice not to play with the stove?

a. She should not threaten him at all or punish him if he chooses to touch it.
b. She should explain to him the reasons why he should avoid touching it, rather than punishing him or threatening to punish him for touching it.
c. She should use the threat of a mild punishment if he chooses to touch it.
d. She should use the threat of severe punishment if he chooses to touch it.

Answer 1

The correct answer is answer C: She should use the threat of a mild punishment of he chooses to touch it.

Step-by-step explanation:

Insufficient justification is a psychological phenomenon that happens when an unbalance exists between the threat of a reward/punishment (acting as an external motivator) and a behavior. This reward/punishment has to be mild to have a proper impact on the subject as he/she will generate more intrinsic motivation (motivation generated by ourselfs).

Let's look at this example of the stove.

If the mother uses the threat of a mild punishment the child will think that the action of touching the stove is not that "attractive", so he will lose interest in doing it. He will be intrinsically motivated to not touch the stove.