The Role of Reward and Punishment in Learning

Since their creation, human beings have learned and been taught. Learning has always been accompanied by various techniques and mechanisms used by teachers. The two most important techniques are rewards and punishment, which are critical aspects of human life especially in education. This paper aims to investigate the impact of reward and punishment in education and consequently learning. Furthermore, a number of topics in the field of learning are discussed including types of learning, the meaning and definitions of reward and punishment, types of reward and punishment, different extremes in using the techniques, the reason for discouraging punishment. Moreover, field studies on the topic in Iran and other countries in different time periods are reviewed. Finally, various results as well as theories pertaining to reward and punishment are summarized.

Learning, reward, punishment, desirable behavior, undesirable behavior