Rewards and Punishments Are you one of the many parents or authority figures in someone’s life who use a reward and punishment system to get them to do more of what you want, or to act more of the way you desire? Recently, my son’s and I were at the doctor’s, and there was another mother there with her son who was giving her trouble. She tells him that he can have a sucker if he sits quietly while they are waiting. His mother hands him the sucker, tells him to behave, and to remember what she told him. As soon as his sucker was gone, the bad behavior came back. Then, his mom offers him a piece of gum. The boy sits quietly for a few minutes, but the excitement of the gum wore off quickly, and he instantly starts acting up and asking for
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People easily become addicted to the feeling that they get when they are rewarded for a completed task or a job well done, but eventually the excitement wears off and they are in search of their next fix. We must then find more exciting rewards to keep them doing more of what we want. For instance, giving children chores and paying them for it is a bad idea because the very moment we offer them a reward for their help they will expect it every time. Everyone has chores or responsibilities and there is no reason to offer a reward to do them. We are molding our children to be addicted to and expecting of a reward every time they do something they should already be doing. When we become adults and venture out on our own no one is going to be there to reward us for doing our chores and taking care of our responsibilities. Why should we start that behavior when it can be avoided? Anton Suvorov, a Russian economist says, “Rewards are addictive in that once offered, a contingent reward makes an agent expect it whenever a similar task is faced, which in turn compels the principal to use rewards over and over again. Which then forces the principal to offer larger rewards to achieve the same effect (Pink 142).” What this quote means is that once we start to offer rewards for everyday tasks, better behavior, or whatever it may be, we are going to have to constantly raise the reward …show more content…
When people are being offered rewards for anything and everything, or punishments for not doing what has been asked of them it will become their only reason for doing what is required of them. They are only focused on the quickest way to get what they want, rather than taking the time to truly earn and learn the way to make the good feeling last longer than the instant gratification of the reward. For example, if we reward our children for every school assignment they complete, they will only work as hard as they must to get the reward, but they aren’t really learning and understanding the assignments. They are merely doing the bare minimum for the instant reward. Daniel Pink, an award-winning author, says “Addicts want the quick fix regardless of the harm. Cheaters want the quick win- regardless of the lasting consequences (144).” He also says, “many people only work to point that triggers the reward-and no further (146).” What these quotes show is that when rewards are involved it will take away from working harder and working longer. They are only after the quickest way possible to get to their reward no matter what it takes, they will go no further, and they will try no harder. Short term thinking is damaging and will crowd out long-term
People easily become addicted to the feeling that they get when they are rewarded for a completed task or a job well done, but eventually the excitement wears off and they are in search of their next fix. We must then find more exciting rewards to keep them doing more of what we want. For instance, giving children chores and paying them for it is a bad idea because the very moment we offer them a reward for their help they will expect it every time. Everyone has chores or responsibilities and there is no reason to offer a reward to do them. We are molding our children to be addicted to and expecting of a reward every time they do something they should already be doing. When we become adults and venture out on our own no one is going to be there to reward us for doing our chores and taking care of our responsibilities. Why should we start that behavior when it can be avoided? Anton Suvorov, a Russian economist says, “Rewards are addictive in that once offered, a contingent reward makes an agent expect it whenever a similar task is faced, which in turn compels the principal to use rewards over and over again. Which then forces the principal to offer larger rewards to achieve the same effect (Pink 142).” What this quote means is that once we start to offer rewards for everyday tasks, better behavior, or whatever it may be, we are going to have to constantly raise the reward …show more content…
When people are being offered rewards for anything and everything, or punishments for not doing what has been asked of them it will become their only reason for doing what is required of them. They are only focused on the quickest way to get what they want, rather than taking the time to truly earn and learn the way to make the good feeling last longer than the instant gratification of the reward. For example, if we reward our children for every school assignment they complete, they will only work as hard as they must to get the reward, but they aren’t really learning and understanding the assignments. They are merely doing the bare minimum for the instant reward. Daniel Pink, an award-winning author, says “Addicts want the quick fix regardless of the harm. Cheaters want the quick win- regardless of the lasting consequences (144).” He also says, “many people only work to point that triggers the reward-and no further (146).” What these quotes show is that when rewards are involved it will take away from working harder and working longer. They are only after the quickest way possible to get to their reward no matter what it takes, they will go no further, and they will try no harder. Short term thinking is damaging and will crowd out long-term