PUNISHED BY REWARDS
Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things... from your vain conversation [behavior] received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ.—I Peter 1:18-19
Two years ago I began reading a library copy of Alfie Kohn’s book Punished by Rewards, but had to return it before I was finished. Distracted by other good books and important issues, I never had the time or energy to reengage Kohn’s arguments; but when Coralie recently found an unread copy for less than a dollar, I had the impetus I needed.
Having had time to better process Kohn’s basic premises, I would like to begin again with greater effort of thought and discernment. Specifically, I would like to see how Kohn’s arguments agree and disagree with the Biblical perspective. Coralie will be joining me in discussion, posting her notes on her blog Eclectic Heights.
{A CHRISTIAN’S PERSPECTIVE}
I introduced this post with a verse from the first epistle of Peter, in which is distilled the Biblical response to behaviorism. I trust that Punished by Rewards will provide multiple opportunities to reflect on the relation between spiritual salvation and morality, since Kohn (who is not religious) appears to dismiss Christians as affiliated behaviorists.
I do see the influence of pop-science behaviorism on Christian theology and practice today, so I anticipate reflection on church issues alongside the issues of workplace, school and home directly addressed by Kohn.
{PREFACE}
‘I came very close to failing Introduction to Psychology,’ Alfie Kohn begins. His research report described classic conditioning from the perspective of a rat who conditions the researcher to feed him at the press of a lever. Kohn’s instructor was not amused.
Kohn lightly infers:
‘In retrospect, I think it can be fairly said that I did not take well to behaviorism when first introduced to it. Nor did it grow on me as the years went by.’ [p xi]
Kohn also mentions several personal encounters with pioneer behaviorist B.F. Skinner (encounters which will be elaborated in Chapter I).
This eventually led to research; and when Kohn uncovered numerous studies demonstrating that behaviorism was inadequate and even damaging, he grew concerned about the pervasiveness of this approach in our society.
‘Gradually, it began to dawn on me that our society is caught in a whopping paradox. We complain loudly about such things as the sagging productivity of our workplaces, the crisis of our schools, the warped values of our children. But the very strategy we use to solve those problems—dangling rewards like incentive plans and candy bars in front of people—is partly responsible for the fix we’re in.’ [p xii]
In Punished by Rewards, Kohn seeks to demonstrate that behaviorism fails on both ethical and pragmatic grounds. Kohn admits his aim is ‘both ambitious and controversial’—a ‘broad critique’ that will be ‘a challenge to conventional thinking.’ And he cheerfully casts some of the blame on friends and colleagues who helped him develop his ideas and write his book.
• What is ‘The Trouble with Gold Stars’? •
June 11, 2013