Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 12, 2025

A Cross-Disciplinary and Multi-Modal Experimental Design for Studying Near-Real-Time Authentic Examination Experiences
Published on: September 4, 2019
School Corporal Punishment and Its Associations with Achievement and Adjustment
Elizabeth Gershoff1, Kierra M P Sattler1, George W Holden2
1Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop A2702, Austin, TX 78712, U.S.A.
Abstract:
Corporal punishment in public schools is legal in nineteen states in the U.S. Over 100,000 students are disciplined with corporal punishment in public schools each year. Little is known about the forms school corporal punishment takes or about how school corporal punishment relates to students' outcomes. This study reports results from an anonymous online survey of emerging adults (ages 18 to 23) in the 19 states where school corporal punishment is legal. Of the more than 800 participants, 16% revealed that they experienced school corporal punishment. Propensity score matching was used to equate those who had experienced school corporal punishment and those who had not on a range of covariates. In regression models, having ever experienced school corporal punishment was linked with lower high school GPA, higher current depressive symptoms, and greater likelihood of spanking their own children in the future.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Punishment
Punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus, such as scolding, to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus, such as taking away a favorite toy, to decrease behavior....
Conduct Disorder
Bullying
Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement in operant conditioning can be positive or negative, both of which serve to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Positive...
Behavior Modification
A real-world application of operant conditioning principles is applied...
Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative...

