Punishment or teaching or ….
A friend and I were chatting this morning about the practice of punishing an entire organization or group for the behavior of one or a small group of people. The example she mentioned is at an educational institution. I remarked that I was not aware of research which indicated that approach was an effective teaching tool. Yet, I am well aware that many institutions and many parents have used this approach. My mother, for example, seemed very fond of this approach. If something got broken or spilled she would demand to know who the guilty person was. Obviously one of us was the guilty party and just as obvious we deserved to be punished for our sin. Perhaps because money was dear and life was tough, accidents (otherwise known as deliberate decisions to be careless, thoughtless, or just plain stupid) we’re not possible. If something got broken or spilled it was clearly the result of one’s decision to be disrespectful of our mother who had to try stretching the dollars or deal with the resultant mess (she did not clean up the mess, we did). At any rate when no confession was forthcoming, the entire group of siblings was duly punished until the guilty party came forth. This meant either that punishment was continued indefinitely or the guilty party or the weakest was bullied into confessing. Mother insisted that all she wanted was the truth, but we knew she wanted to hold someone responsible. She had a very cause and effect sort of scientific mind. If something happened, then someone deliberately did something to cause it even it what one did was to be “careless” which covered a variety of behavior. Eventually someone would confess and be “punished” while the rest of us cowered knowing that we too were going to be punished for not snitching.
This approach to dealing with misdeeds or accidents was not limited to home. Teachers frequently punished the entire class for some accident or misdeed.
Don’t get me wrong. We children and certainly this child was not innocent. Even today I am often guilty of rushing to do some task without any conscious awareness of having decided to rush. Not infrequently this results in my injury such as hitting my head on the one pantry shelf which is wider than the rest or occasionally breaking or spilling something. I tell myself to slow down but that is one of those reminders which never enters the long-term memory bank. Yet, I do not punish. I already have a bump on my head. I might remind myself to slow down or I might decide to change that shelf do that it is the same width as the others.
The theoretical basis for punishing a group of people for the misdeed of one or a small group is elusive – at least to me. Even when, as in the case of the example my friend and I were discussing, it was clear who was responsible for the original misdeed. Clearly, that particular misdeed demanded that something be done to make it clear that the behavior was not acceptable and that the decision-making process which led to the behavior needed changed.
It seems to me that all too frequently in our role as parents, educational institutions and society as a whole our goal is to hold someone responsible and to punish at least them. All too frequently, a new rule is made which affects or is applied to the entire group. Occasionally there is a focus on teaching and not on punishment. I applaud those that take that approach. My Uncle Harold and Aunt Pleasie took this approach. If I made a bad decision such as examining the hunting rifle before I was taught how to use it and quickly shooting the glass in the door or something else, their response was “Are you hurt? Do you now understand why we wanted you to wait until we taught you? Let’s fix the door or whatever.” That truly was their approach every time. I have no idea why they took this approach when no one else in the family did. Perhaps it has something to do with my aunt’s background as a Cherokee Indian or a member of the Self family.
So, what are the likely results of punishing a group for the misdeeds of one or a small group whether it be in a corporate, educational or home setting?
· The group will most likely become more secretive or sneaky in how they approach problems/issues.
· The group will bully or otherwise mistreat those who were responsible.
· The group will become fearful of admitting mistakes or problem.
What are the results of punishment in general? One has only to look at the behavior of inmates and staff in prisons.
· The inmates have their own government of hierarchy.
· They administer justice in a way which is similar to the institutional staff.
· They become more skilled in criminal or anti-social behavior.
· They become less trusting, feel less a part of society and, thus, have less vested interest in working toward the common good.
I suspect that we all need to examine our motives before we react to a situation. If we would clearly base our goals and our plan of action on solid research findings, I suspect that we would handle situations much differently and with much different results.
Written March 10, 2017
A friend and I were chatting this morning about the practice of punishing an entire organization or group for the behavior of one or a small group of people. The example she mentioned is at an educational institution. I remarked that I was not aware of research which indicated that approach was an effective teaching tool. Yet, I am well aware that many institutions and many parents have used this approach. My mother, for example, seemed very fond of this approach. If something got broken or spilled she would demand to know who the guilty person was. Obviously one of us was the guilty party and just as obvious we deserved to be punished for our sin. Perhaps because money was dear and life was tough, accidents (otherwise known as deliberate decisions to be careless, thoughtless, or just plain stupid) we’re not possible. If something got broken or spilled it was clearly the result of one’s decision to be disrespectful of our mother who had to try stretching the dollars or deal with the resultant mess (she did not clean up the mess, we did). At any rate when no confession was forthcoming, the entire group of siblings was duly punished until the guilty party came forth. This meant either that punishment was continued indefinitely or the guilty party or the weakest was bullied into confessing. Mother insisted that all she wanted was the truth, but we knew she wanted to hold someone responsible. She had a very cause and effect sort of scientific mind. If something happened, then someone deliberately did something to cause it even it what one did was to be “careless” which covered a variety of behavior. Eventually someone would confess and be “punished” while the rest of us cowered knowing that we too were going to be punished for not snitching.
This approach to dealing with misdeeds or accidents was not limited to home. Teachers frequently punished the entire class for some accident or misdeed.
Don’t get me wrong. We children and certainly this child was not innocent. Even today I am often guilty of rushing to do some task without any conscious awareness of having decided to rush. Not infrequently this results in my injury such as hitting my head on the one pantry shelf which is wider than the rest or occasionally breaking or spilling something. I tell myself to slow down but that is one of those reminders which never enters the long-term memory bank. Yet, I do not punish. I already have a bump on my head. I might remind myself to slow down or I might decide to change that shelf do that it is the same width as the others.
The theoretical basis for punishing a group of people for the misdeed of one or a small group is elusive – at least to me. Even when, as in the case of the example my friend and I were discussing, it was clear who was responsible for the original misdeed. Clearly, that particular misdeed demanded that something be done to make it clear that the behavior was not acceptable and that the decision-making process which led to the behavior needed changed.
It seems to me that all too frequently in our role as parents, educational institutions and society as a whole our goal is to hold someone responsible and to punish at least them. All too frequently, a new rule is made which affects or is applied to the entire group. Occasionally there is a focus on teaching and not on punishment. I applaud those that take that approach. My Uncle Harold and Aunt Pleasie took this approach. If I made a bad decision such as examining the hunting rifle before I was taught how to use it and quickly shooting the glass in the door or something else, their response was “Are you hurt? Do you now understand why we wanted you to wait until we taught you? Let’s fix the door or whatever.” That truly was their approach every time. I have no idea why they took this approach when no one else in the family did. Perhaps it has something to do with my aunt’s background as a Cherokee Indian or a member of the Self family.
So, what are the likely results of punishing a group for the misdeeds of one or a small group whether it be in a corporate, educational or home setting?
· The group will most likely become more secretive or sneaky in how they approach problems/issues.
· The group will bully or otherwise mistreat those who were responsible.
· The group will become fearful of admitting mistakes or problem.
What are the results of punishment in general? One has only to look at the behavior of inmates and staff in prisons.
· The inmates have their own government of hierarchy.
· They administer justice in a way which is similar to the institutional staff.
· They become more skilled in criminal or anti-social behavior.
· They become less trusting, feel less a part of society and, thus, have less vested interest in working toward the common good.
I suspect that we all need to examine our motives before we react to a situation. If we would clearly base our goals and our plan of action on solid research findings, I suspect that we would handle situations much differently and with much different results.
Written March 10, 2017
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