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Punished by Misunderstanding: A Critical Evaluation of Kohn’s Punished by Rewards and Its Implications for Behavioral Interventions with Children

The Behavior Analyst volume 21, pages 143–157 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Despite the growth of behavior analysis over the past 30 years, misunderstandings of behavioral theory and practice may threaten its continued growth and application. Alfie Kohn’s Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes (1993) offers a view of behaviorism that, if accepted uncritically, could hinder efforts to disseminate behavioral interventions, particularly those involving children. A comprehensive review of Punished by Rewards revealed the following assumptions: (a) Behavior analysis is exclusively derived from animal research; (b) behavior analysts characterize children as passive agents to be manipulated; (c) behavior analysis is a behavior control technology; (d) behavior analysts are uninterested in and ignorant of the causes of behavior; and (e) behavior analysts are unconcerned about the protection and welfare of children. For each class of assumptions, critique and commentary are offered. Empirical and philosophical aspects of Kohn’s arguments are scrutinized, and the implications of continued misunderstandings for the future of behavior analysis and the need for more accurate dissemination of contemporary applied behavioral research are also discussed. Despite Kohn’s apparent biases against behaviorism, it is concluded that a better informed public would find much to like about contemporary behavior analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, 236 Audubon Hall, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803, USA

    David Reitman

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  1. David Reitman
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Correspondence to David Reitman.

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Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A’s. praise, and other bribes. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

An earlier version of this article was presented in R. Gallagher (Chair), Externalizing behavior disorders in youth: Where we stand and where we should be heading, at the 30th annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New York, November 1996.

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Reitman, D. Punished by Misunderstanding: A Critical Evaluation of Kohn’s Punished by Rewards and Its Implications for Behavioral Interventions with Children. BEHAV ANALYST 21, 143–157 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392789

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