Using condition techniques on children

• Why is this a controversial debate?

  • Children need to become fully functioning members of society
  • Behaviorists argue that we learn through conditioning to control behaviours
  • Some argue that this removes free will + creates a ''selfish automatons''
• Conditioning at home


  For - Supernanny = when child is naughty the attention they receive can be positive reinforcement and so using the naughty step removes the attention thus reducing the chance of behaviour reoccurring

  For - Gill had parents encourage chore completion for money or postponement of the money which saw up to 20% more of chores around the home being completed
• No conditioning at home

  Against - Morris says children are unable to reflect on their behaviour on their own and without empathy/help, this may have a lasting impact on them

  Against - To be most effective the techniques must be consistent, parents who are tired will show more frustration meaning that the conditioning will not work as effectively
• Conditioning in education


  For - McAllister saw the increase use of teacher praise and teacher disapproval had a decrease on the inappropriate lesson talking meaning that more quiet focus was obtained = improved performance

  For - Le Francois said teachers should maximise pleasant stimulus such as posters which will create the positive associations allowing for increased performance + attendance
• No conditioning in education

  Against - Lepper promised children a reward after drawing picture = spent half as much time on it compared to those who were not promised, shows how OC can destroy internal motivation

  Against - Dweck found children who were praised on maths test did worse on next one compared to children who were told they were lazy, the negative punishment ended up becoming a positive reinforcement
• Vulnerable Children

  For - Loovas found ABA which help children with ADH to socialise through 1 to 1 therapy of giving a reward for the behaviour which was slowly reduced as they reached the ideal one

  Against - Research evidence found that in more than half of respondents there was PTSD symptoms due to the forced eye contact and no variety in seating = ethical concerns
• Implications of debate


  Ethical - Removal of free will due to manipulation of behaviour + destruction of internal drives may cause disadvatnge as an adult in jobs where little reinforcement is used

  Social - Conditioning in schools = better performance = better jobs/allowing them to function within society

  Also for vulnerable people they will be able to live and move within society + potential of getting a job

  Economic - Money as a reward means they assume that in jobs, many working with a reduced budget
• Conclusions

  • Conditioning techniques ARE useful in shaping behaviours
  • This can be especially useful for children with ASD
  • Benefits of this to schools, society, the home?
  • Careful in becoming over reliant on techniques due to the potential of being damaging