are children better motivated by punishment or reward?

Question

tHIS is my science project

Answer 1

A little of both. I'll start with motivation by reward:

Rewards are great. Everybody likes them. ALL PEOPLE enjoy getting a little something for a job well done (As adults, we call it a paycheck). The trick here is teaching children that you don't get rewards for doing the basics of what is expected anyway. Rewards are given for going above and beyond the call of duty (adults call it a bonus or a raise).

On to punishment:

One of the basics of human emotions is that, for the most part, people do the right thing because they don't want to deal with the consequences (or punishment) of doing the wrong thing. For example, most people try not to speed because they don't want a ticket. Most people go to their job every day because they don't want to get fired. Most kids try not to smart off to their fathers because they don't want to get grounded. Schoolkids do their homework because they don't want their teacher (or parent) to be mad at them, or lose some privilege.

The point here is that it is human nature to avoid that which causes you distress (punishment) and to do as much as possible that which makes you feel good (reward).

Answer 2

That depends on what you are attempting to motivate someone to do. For a child to excel and advance, small rewards with the promise of better rewards will motivate the child to move forward. All the while a child must be taught the value of the work as its reward otherwise, severe disappointment will be found later in life when the boss doesn't reward the person for minor things that a parent would have. To deter a child from a particular activity, punishment is the best motivator. Rewarding a child in order to redirect what the child is engaging in will only associate the undesired activity with a reward and prompt the child to do it more often to receive the reward. Such as a screaming child in a grocery store wanting candy, but the parent says no. The wrong thing to do would be to "reward" the child with the promise of ice cream or another treat when you leave the store for the child to behave while in the store. In this case, a stern "No" would suffice, and a continuously disobedient child would require some other form of punishment once out of the store. One must always remember that punishment goes hand in hand with the explanation of the punishment. Without an explanation and love, the child will not associate the punishment with the activity.

Answer 3

There is no such thing as BETTER motivated. A collection of motivators should be used depending on the child and the situation. An example of that is punishment for bad marks. It should always be accompanied by the promise of a reward if good marks are got and the child must know that his parents are serious and they must keep some money aside to be able to afford the prize when the time comes as the kid may lose hope if they are not able to give him anything only ONCE due to cash shortage or so. The reward should be a good thing as they will not really appreciate a book or so. The most important aspect is the degree of seriousness. The parent must be always serious abut promises and warnings and implement them with no regret to show the child 'who the boss is'. the punishment should be harsh, something that really matters to the child or else it won't differ. It should be put in mind also that children are very cunning and may pretend to be sad while they are happy you took that awful thing away!

Answer 4

reward, punishment only motivates to keep from being punished so the output level is baseline at best where as for reward the output tend to me much higher as the reward can grow with the amount of effort put in, as with the punishment theory the person would only work as hard as to not be punished which in my opion isnt really motiavtion more of a fear tactic

Answer 5

I read an article once that stated that children who are rewarded for doing work well quickly stop trying to do new things because they become complacent of trying, and they are afraid of failure.

You may want to do a LOT more research than getting answers on here.

Answer 6

Motivated by reward, scared by punishment

Answer 7

this is not a yes or no answer,,, it depends on the kid,,,, some children do not respond to motivation you could offer them the world and it will not work,,, and the same for punishment they may just rebel even more,,, it is an individual thing,,,,

mother of 5

Answer 8

by reward, because when their rewarded that incourages them to do better the next time

Answer 9

ignore when naughty and reward when good a carrot always helps

Answer 10

reward