Question

Discuss how the environment can be used to curb behavior and restrict a child from doing something dangerous or unacceptable. What is an example of learning from experiencing a consequence? Is your example a logical or a natural consequence?

Answer 1

The environment can play a huge role to curb behaviour and restrict a child from doing something dangerous by the use of punishment techniques. If the child learns either through his/her experience or by observing others that certain responses would be followed by negative and aversive consequences, he/she is likely to decrease and subsequently not perform that behaviour. As a child, for instance, I thoroughly enjoyed and engaged in climbing trees even though I was often discouraged by my parents to do so. One day, however, I fell down while climbing a tree at my friend’s garden and fractured my arm. After this incident, I never attempted to climb a tree again. However, I do think that the consequence is logical to a limited extent because out of the more or less hundred trees I have climbed, I only hurt myself once.