Final answer:
Example of reinforcements and punishments include giving a child a toy as positive reinforcement for cleaning their room and making a child write 'I will not hit my brother' as positive punishment to reduce aggression. Reinforcements are preferred over punishments in modern practices to shape children's behaviors.
Step-by-step explanation:
Reinforcements and punishments are crucial concepts in behavior modification, particularly in changing a child's behavior. Positive reinforcements involve adding something desirable after a behavior to increase the likelihood of that behavior being repeated. For instance, a child who tidies up their room might receive a toy, bolstering the chances that they will tidy their room in the future. On the other hand, punishments are aimed at decreasing undesirable behaviors.
An example of positive punishment is when a child hits their sibling, and as a consequence, they are required to write an apology several times. This introduces an unpleasant task to reduce the unwanted behavior. It is important to note that punishment can sometimes lead to negative outcomes such as fear or further aggressive behaviors, which is why reinforcements are typically favored in modern child rearing and education. For effective behavior change, the reinforcement must be meaningful to the child and consistently applied.
Negative reinforcement, often mistaken for punishment, actually involves the removal of an undesirable stimulus to increase a behavior. An example is removing the pressure on a horse when it performs the desired action, encouraging the horse to repeat the action in the future. In the context of child behavior, removing a restriction or a disliked duty when a child exhibits good behavior serves as negative reinforcement, thereby increasing the likelihood of the good behavior occurring again.