When it comes to carrot and stick, as per a new study, punishments may guide behavior more effectively than rewards.
The study involving 88 students at the Washington University in St. Louis found that losses or punishments had a measured impact two to three times greater than gains or rewards.
In one study group, students listened to a series of clicking noises and indicated whether they heard more clicks in the left or right ear. In another group, students watched for flashes of light on a screen and indicated whether they saw more flashes on the right or left side. The number of clicks and flashes on each side were randomized and often very close together, making the task challenging and the students often uncertain of the correct response.
Every time a student made a choice, the researchers randomly displayed a token for 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 cents that was given as a reward for the correct answer or taken away as a punishment for an incorrect response.
As might be expected, when a student was rewarded, he or she tended to repeat the previous choice. And that tendency grew stronger as the award increased. When a student was punished, he or she strongly avoided the previous choice.
However, unlike the response to a reward, no matter how large a sum was lost, the students showed a strong and consistent tendency to avoid the previous choice. This was true in both groups, among those who heard clicks and those who viewed flashes, demonstrating that the stimulus itself didn’t matter.
Lead author Jan Kubanek said that regarding teaching strategies, the study suggests that negative feedback may be more effective than positive feedback at modifying behavior.
Kubanek added that they showed that such feedback does not have to be harsh, since it appears that people tend to react in the same manner to any amount of negative feedback. From an evolutionary perspective, people tend to avoid punishments or dangerous situations and rewards have less of a life-threatening impact.
The study appears online in the journal Cognition. (ANI)