PUNISHMENT ENHANCES REASONINGS EFFECTIVENESS AS A DISCIPLINARY RESPONSE TO TODDLERS

Three different kinds of analyses investigated the effect of disciplin ary reasoning on subsequent misbehavior with 2- and 3-year-olds. The e ffectiveness of reasoning by itself depended on how often reasoning ha d been combined with punishment on other occasions. In the longitudina l analyses the largest increase in disruptive behaviors by age 4 occur red when parents used reasoning frequently without ever backing it up with punishment. The largest decrease in disruptive behavior occurred when parents used reasoning frequently but backed it up with punishmen t when necessary.