Definition
Punishment conditioning is a technique from behavioral psychology that can help you to stop unhealthy behavior. However, punishment seems to be less effective than rewarding positive behavior [1] and has potential side effects [2].
How to Do It
There are two ways to punish unhealthy behavior. You can add an unpleasant consequence to bad behavior (i.e. 50 push-ups), or you can remove a pleasant experience as a consequence for bad habits (i.e. no TV at night).
Try to make the punishment actually good for you like doing an exercise or donating to a charity.
Benefits
May reduce the frequency of unhealthy behavior
Time Commitment
10-15 minutes for punishment
Why it works
By punishing unhealthy behavior, we learn to associate this same behavior with an unpleasant consequence which makes us less likely to engage in it in the future.
Suggested Frequency
Every time you engage in unhealthy behavior
Supporting Studies and Articles
- Strohacker, K., Galarraga, O., & Williams, D. M. (2014). The Impact of Incentives on Exercise Behavior: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Annals of Behavioral Medicine : A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, 48(1), 92–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-013-9577-4
- Cohn, M., Popma, A., van den Brink, W., Pape, L., Kindt, M., Domburgh, L., … Veltman, D. (2013). Fear conditioning, persistence of disruptive behavior and psychopathic traits: An fMRI study. Translational Psychiatry, 3, e319. https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2013.89
Side Effects
- May lead to self-aggression
- May lead to the suppression of the same behavior in a healthy context
Required Equipment
None
Rating
Potentially bad habit
Category Health/Productivity/Focus:
- Health
- Productivity
Suggested Time of Day
Any time
Notes
- Consider rewarding yourself for not engaging in unhealthy behavior instead of punishing bad behavior to achieve longer lasting change
- Combine with reward conditioning for an amplified result
- You can also make challenges with your friends to abstain from a bad behavior and pay each other every time you mess up. For example agree to give your friend $10 everytime you eat junk food
