Chapter 7*

In this chapter I thought that the facts about positive and negative punishment were really interesting. A study says that spanking a child can result in more aggression later on in the child. If you are swift and sturdy in your punishment, than it is easier to restrain unwanted behavior. An example of a positive punishment could be spanking or getting a parking ticket. Negative examples of punishment are time out from privileges (taking the computer away, or allowing no friends to come over) or taking away your child's license.

Classical Conditioning is a type of conditioning where a person comes to realize in their brain whether something is good or bad, based on something that has happened repeatedly. Different responses come from different stimuli and therefore produce a different result. An example of this could be like when a child is continuously abused when they are little, every time a person raises their voice or raises their hand, they automatically go into defense mode, assuming that they are going to get hit. This happens because in their mind, they are used to being hit and screamed and so whenever something that associates the behavior that they are used to happens, their brain singles a defense mode.

I have been affected by conditioning in a pretty powerful way. I usually babysit for my neighbor who I have known now for about four years. Both her and her husband are foster parents and have also adopted three children and have had one of their own. Christina is an AODA counselor, and she frequently tells me about stories that she's heard about different child and their "situations." Every time I hear one of these stories, it almost makes me want to cry. These young children who are in foster care range anywhere from newborn to 17 years old. It's sad to hear their stories about what they've been through at such a young age. It affects me because something just clicks in my head that's like, "I would NEVER want to put a child through something like that.!" It really just makes me reflect on my life and the kind of person that I want to be.