Effectiveness of Punishment as an Interaction of Intensity, Timing, Agent Nurturance, and Cognitive Structuring

In order to assess the effects of variations in four punishment parameters on resistance to deviation in children, 80 grade 1 and grade 2 boys were randomly assigned to 1 of 16 conditions in a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design involving 2 levels of timing of punishment, intensity of punishment, the nature of the relationship between the agent and recipient of punishment, and cognitive structure accompanying punishment. The provision of high cognitive structure resulted in greater response inhibition than did low cognitive structure. In addition, high cognitive structure training modified the operation of the other experimental variables. High-intensity punishment produced greater response inhibition than low-intensity punishment under low cognitive structure; no intensity effect was present under high cognitive structure. Similarly, early punishment produced greater inhibition than late punishment under low cognitive structure, but not under high cognitive structure, conditions. The timing efect was significant under lowbut not under high-intensity punishment conditions and under high nurturance but not under low nurturance conditions. Finally, children who received prior nurturance from the experimenter were more resistant to deviation than children who had not had nurturant interaction, but only under low cognitive structure conditions.