Final Paper Psy101

Running head: CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND DISCIPLINE 1
Is Corporal Punishment Needed to Discipline Children?
Connie Butts
Ashford University
PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
Instructor: Mindy Sloan
August 2, 2015

Is Corporal Punishment Needed to Discipline Children?
For many years different schools of thought have surrounded the topic of discipline and
corporal punishment of children. Throughout the years ideals have changed drastically from one
end of the spectrum which actually favors the use of corporal punishment in the disciplining of
children to the other, which frowns on its use altogether. Some parents’ feel it is not only within
their rights as parents, but that the use of spanking actually helps them fulfill their responsibility
to society to have well behaved children that are not disruptive or disrespectful. Other parents
feel that to spank a child not only displays violence toward a child, but also teaches the child to
use violence toward others. Regardless of the position we personally hold, parents in general
seek to raise well-adjusted children who are well behaved. Studies have shown there are both
good and bad that can result from the use of corporal punishment depending upon how and when
it is administered. If parents choose to use corporal punishment it should only be used to stop
destructive or disruptive behaviors of a strong willed unreasonable child after teaching and
reasoning methods were ineffective.
Before exploring corporal punishment more extensively it needs to be made clear that
discipline is not necessarily the same thing. Discipline is the training or teaching of people to
obey rules or codes of conduct and the enforcing of those rules by the use of punishment. There
are many types of punishment that can be used to enforce discipline. Corporal punishment is the
use of “hitting, striking, wounding or bruising a dependent child for the purpose of punishing,
disciplining, or showing disapproval.” (Ember, 2005) Corporal punishment is the use of
physically punishing disobedience rather than restricting privileges or desired activities or items.
Therefore, corporal punishment is not a teaching tool, it is used to physically enforce rules or
correct disobedience. Other types of punishment have been beneficial in encouraging prosocial

behaviors and should be the primary tools used along with teaching and training youngsters to
obey rules. This being the case, corporal punishment should only be used when attempts to
curtail destructive behavior and teaching and reasoning methods were not effective.
Although the use of corporal punishment is deemed appropriate and sometimes necessary
by many even here in the United States, it has been associated with negative effects emotionally
as well as the increased expression of externalizing behaviors. After many studies it appears that
only children who suffered harsh or frequent spankings experienced increased instances of
externalizing behaviors. (Lansford, 2012) Depending on the studies reviewed, some scholars
suggest even low levels of corporal punishment may increase antisocial behavior in children and
adolescents. (Grogan-Kaylor, 2004) Other studies suggest the harm caused by corporal
punishment extends to the child’s later experiencing cognitive problems, however there is no
evidence there is any substantial risk associated with corporal punishment without evidence of
abuse. Minimal negative effects on human function and development were noted in those who
endured corporal punishment. (Elizabeth, 2004) It is interesting to see that over reactive
discipline encodes negative behaviors in children at a higher rate than the use of corporal
punishment alone. (Lorber, 2003)
Studies show that children with behavioral disorders such as attention deficit disorder or
oppositional defiant disorder put them at higher risk of being spanked more often and possibly
more severely than normal children. Being high risk subjects will lead to higher risk of
aggressiveness and displaying externalizing behaviors and could possibly lead to child abuse.
(Paris, 2000) Care should be taken with children who are not emotionally or psychologically
healthy and the use of corporal punishment should be avoided if possible. Other types of
discipline prove more effective for these children and when they experience excessive corporal

punishment they are at higher risk of developing adult social and psychological problems that
could include adult aggression, depression, and delinquency. (Walsh, 2002) Regardless of the
type of discipline choice is made with these children, it must be consistent and persistent in order
to be effective. (Paris, 2000)
Parents who advocate the use of corporal punishment such as spanking think it increases
the likelihood of positive outcomes in conduct and promotes the respect of parents. They also
prefer to spank because it forces children to immediately stop destructive behavior and be
compliant with the established rules. (Holden, 1999) This may serve as a short term deterrent for
immediate disruptive behaviors but it does not relieve the parent of the responsibility to teach
and train an erring child the proper way to behave and why it is important. The use of spanking
without proper training supports Straus’ theory that “physical punishment trains children to deal
with conflicts with physical violence.” (Larzelere, 1986)
The use of spanking has been noted as an effective tool to “reduce noncompliance and
fighting when it was used to back up milder discipline tactics.” (Larzelere, 2000) Using spanking
as a last resort measure will make it less likely that abuse would take place and escalate into the
child being hit with objects, punched, or thrown down. (Brown University, 1996) Parents do well
to keep in mind that the role of discipline is to teach, train and correct rather than to injure.
On the other hand, there are parents who believe that corporal punishment or spanking
undermines parent-child relationships by inhibiting the development of respect for parents.
(Holden, 1999) This, paired with the concern about causing mental or emotional harm to a child
that would lead to adult life riddled with aggression issues and depression has bred a society
without consequences during youth. (Walsh, 2002) Some studies have shown that in societies
where corporal punishment is prevalent there are higher levels of violence, war and crime.

(Ember, 2005) This appears to encourage a society in which no child is physically disciplined.
Unfortunately, as has been demonstrated, it has led to a society in which there is little respect for
authority, parental or otherwise, and overcrowding of detention centers and prisons. Lack of
adult authority has led to a generation of children who believe grown-ups must earn their respect.
These consequences are not caused by the absence of spanking, but the absence of discipline.
Parents who choose to avoid physical punishment for defiant children need to use other forms of
punishment to enforce discipline. It is imperative that adults take back authority in order to
stabilize the lives of the children. Respect for authority calls for fear of punishment, this is true
for both the young and old as seen the case of the legal establishment. If there were no fear of
punishment, people would blatantly break laws even in the presence of police or other officials.
The absence of fear of punishment undermines respect for authority.
The description of corporal punishment and varying views have been discussed as well as
the proper circumstances to employ it if necessary. Physical punishment is not necessary with all
children. Many times it is sufficient to reason with a child in order to encourage proper behavior.
Other times punishments such as time out, grounding, or restricting desired items will suffice in
enforcing rules. It is the extreme cases in which all other measures have failed that corporal
punishment may be used to achieve compliance in obeying rules or to curb aggressive or
destructive behaviors. Regardless of the type of punishment used, discipline should be consistent
in order to keep order and provide a stable environment in which to raise children. Today, lack of
discipline in the home, parental absence and lack of parental supervision has contributed to
delinquency, rising violence in homes, and children being unprepared for the realities of life.
(Loeber, 1986) Clearly, children need the structure and stability that consistent and loving

discipline provides in the home. This need will lead to the discussion of different types of
parenting and how they are beneficial in childrearing.
Regardless of the parenting skills parents choose to employ, it is necessary to be fair and
balanced when dealing with any child. Over reactive discipline encodes negative behaviors and
leads to low self-esteem in children. (Lorber, 2003) Parents who see that their children are
properly supervised and disciplined have a much higher probability of raising well-rounded,
respectful and balanced children that are much better at adjusting to the realities of the world.
(Loeber, 1986) Authoritative parenting prepares children to function as independent and
balanced individuals upon reaching adulthood.
Authoritative parenting takes steps to ensure appropriate behaviors by having
expectations for children and making sure they meet them by actively dealing with misbehavior,
providing structure, setting rules, and enforcing them. This type parenting allows for children to
have choices in life and allow them to contribute ideas about structured study time or the type of
punishment that will be used if needed, demonstrating that it “allows for give and take, provides
reasons, and is open to negotiation.” (Grolnick, 2012) Allowing children choices provides them
with a sense of control in life and gives an expected set of consequences when misconduct
occurs, leaving nothing undiscussed. Children of authoritative parents have a greater tendency to
have higher grades and spend more time on school work. This type of parenting also encourages
children to be highly motivated and fosters feelings of competence and security while making
children more responsible and encouraging autonomy. Children of authoritative parents
demonstrate a sense of accomplishment and pride when they meet their parent’s expectations.
(Fletcher, 1999) This sense of accomplishment carries over when they meet the expectations of
teachers and employers as they move into adulthood.

Another form of discipline that contributes to prosocial behavior and facilitates moral
identity is the expression of disappointment when a child misbehaves. (Patrick, 2007) Children
should be reasoned with as soon as they are able to understand what is expected of them.
Reasoning with a child forces them to think about the misbehavior, why it is wrong, and how it
affects others. This type of discipline works well with most children and helps them develop
reasoning ability as well as understanding what is expected from them in the future. This is
described as inductive parenting and it has been shown to be instrumental in training children to
consider others and how their conduct affects them. (Patrick, 2007) The use of inductive
parenting causes the child to be more empathetic toward others, “fosters the development of a
prosocial self-concept, and facilitates moral self-relevance and moral identity.” It is also
suggested that it may cause “children to reflect on the kind of persons they want to be” and
contribute to the development of expectations for themselves. It should be noted that inductive
parenting is more effective in girls during adolescence because girls are more frequently exposed
to discussions of the effects of their actions upon others. (Barnett, 1996)
The next discipline technique that may be effective in the development of prosocial
behavior is power assertion. Power assertion may either be authoritarian or authoritative in
nature. As mentioned earlier, the authoritative parent “has expectations for their children and
follow up on making sure their children meet them” but “allows for give and take, provides
reasons, and is open for negotiation” while the authoritarian parent “assures compliance through
coerciveness and threats without the back and forth dialogue or provision of reasons.” (Grolnick,
2012) This technique is more effective in male adolescents because they see it as fair and the
showing of parental sensitivity. (Barnett, 1996) Another reason adolescent males respond more
favorable to these is because they are not frequently involved in discussions about the feelings of

others like females are. (Patrick, 2007) Males generally responded better to the authoritative
parenting (the use of power assertion) than to inductive parenting techniques, especially during a
parent’s absence. (Barnett, 1996) Oftentimes, they will be compliant when a parent is present
and return to misbehaving when they are not around. As with other styles of parenting, “the use
of discipline is crucial and associated with positive outcomes.” (Grolnick, 2012)
A type of discipline I find questionable is “love withdrawal” in which a parent will make
a point of avoiding conversation with a child, giving them “the cold shoulder” or make direct
statements of rejection when speaking with an erring child. Some parents punish their children
for wrongdoing by avoidance or making statements such as, “I am ashamed to be your mother”
or “I expected you to behave in a shameful manner, or I knew you would let me down again”
indicating they have given up on their child and expect them to be failures in life. (Patrick, 2007)
This type of discipline is intended to demean or embarrass a child into behaving better. The
opposite is commonly seen because the child’s self-esteem is damaged and the child often
resolves themselves to be “losers” that will “never amount to anything” and the words used to
discipline them becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that eventually destroys their future lives. On
the contrary, letting a child know you expect better conduct from them and that you know they
are capable of doing better gives a child hope that they can do better. Punishment, whether
physical or emotional hurts. It is not necessary to break a child’s heart and spirit to get them to
follow rules and conduct themselves appropriately. Talking and reasoning with a child on their
cognitive level is oftentimes all that is needed.
It is interesting that authoritative parenting often leads to the best overall results in
childrearing. Contributing factors would include the parents having an active role in all areas of
their children’s life by establishing rules and seeing they are observed. (Grolnick, 2012) Even

adolescents admit that parental consistency and presence are vital for children’s well-being.
When high school students were surveyed they said the responsiveness and demandingness of
their parents had a direct impact on students’ academic achievement and engagement as well as
their prosocial development. (Fletcher, 1999) One of the main attributes aligned with academic
excellence was reported to be consistency in rules and discipline. The correlations were strong
enough to indicate that if even one parent was consistent in the household it would lead to less
internalized stress in adolescents, thus enforcing the need for stability, discipline and order in the
home. (Grolnick, 2012)
It is clear that only one type of discipline will not work with all children. The child’s
level of understanding, the age of the child, their temperament, and their personality should be
strongly considered before designing a “one type fits all” approach to discipline. The emotional
makeup of the child must also be considered when deciding the best approach to use with a child.
A child who is internally motivated will rarely if ever need to be spanked whereas a child who is
externally motivated will commonly display disruptive behaviors. (LeFrancois, 2011). As
previously mentioned, children who are not emotionally healthy or display conduct that indicate
behavioral disorders should be evaluated by a professional to ensure you use the correct
discipline techniques. (Paris, 2000) Avoiding this suggestion could possibly lead to an incidence
of physical abuse. Regardless of the discipline techniques a parent decides to use, it should not
be used in anger, should be consistent and only used in the best interest of the child. The goal of
discipline is to teach and train, not to injure. This applies both physically and emotionally.
Recently the harm that bullying causes has come into the forefront. Ridiculing or berating
a child in the name of discipline does not reduce the harm it can cause in the development of an
emotionally healthy person. Many studies have been done on corporal punishment and ill effects

were seen only in those spanked regularly or harshly, but not in children in whom it was rarely or
sparingly used. (Lansford, 2012) This indicates that the spankings were used not to curtail
unacceptable behavior, but to hurt or injure the child. Studies have actually shown that the use of
frequent reasoning when a spanking is warranted, lessened the aggression demonstrated in
comparison to those who did not reason with a child before spanking. (Larzelere, 1986) It would
be enlightening to see the results of studies in which love was withdrawn from children as
punishment and the damage that has been done emotionally by this practice. It would also be
interesting to see the results of studies of parent-child relationships where the children were
berated and ridiculed and the damage done from that practice. In comparison, I would be
confident in stating that spanking causes far less emotional damage than is caused by these
practices.
Discipline, when administered in a negative way becomes destructive in and of itself.
That is why it is imperative that any discipline administered be done when parents are not angry.
Discipline of any type can be beneficial (with few exceptions) if used in the best interest of the
child, and administered in love. Discipline can be administered in love, by letting a child know
what they did wrong, why it was wrong, and how to correct it. A child should be confident at all
times of their parents love regardless of the mistakes they make. They must also know that you
love them even if you must spank them to enforce compliance and stop destructive behaviors
like fighting. Spankings that are rare and only in extreme cases to correct a noncompliant child
are not likely to cause negative consequences. Since discipline is the use of tools that train and
teach children to be compliant with rules or codes of conduct, corporal punishment should only
be used when all other types of discipline have failed. Corporal punishment should only be used

as a last resort to bring non-compliant destructive children into conformity with necessary rules
of society to avoid harm to the child or others.

Reference
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Psychology, 138(3), 197-221. Retrieved from
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