Honestly, the Readings on Praise and Punishment

Honestly, the readings on praise and punishment would not greatly affect the way I raised my child. I grew being disciplined by corporal punishment by parents who were also disciplined by corporal punishment when they were raised. I actually believe that there are a number of virtues associated with corporal punishment including humility, self-esteem, and an understated form of perseverance that is fundamental to a well-rounded individual. More than likely, if I ever were to have children I would incorporate corporal punishment into the ways that I disciplined them. I would utilize this form of discipline especially for younger children, and would more than likely subside this approach as the children became teenagers and morphed into adults. I actually believe that the virtues extracted from corporal punishment exceed the negatives associated with it, especially when it is administered with love and temperance.

The readings on praise might certainly affect the way that I raise my child. I believe that praise and punishment are actually two forms of the same thing -- teaching a child to learn the consequences of his or her actions. Therefore, I would certainly incorporate copious amounts of praise and other rewards (both intrinsic and extrinsic) to show approbation for a child's work that was completed well. However, I do not believe that inflicting discipline in the form of corporal punishment or any other form is enough to negate the effects of positive feedback. Both negative and positive experiences enable a person to grow and learn from them. Therefore, issuing corporal punishment as well as lauding a child's commendable achievement is necessary for his or her development, in my opinion. The readings certainly allude to some of the benefits of praise. I just do not think that these benefits are enough to refrain from inflicting punishment (even corporal punishment) when a child's actions call for such a parental response.

2.) There are a few reasons why acts of revenge are generally more severe than the initial event that instigated the revenge. One of these pertains to the fact that the act of revenge is usually premeditated at some level. People do not have to explicitly plan out a certain act of revenge, but the fact that they see an opportunity to extract revenge on someone else may provide all the opportunity they need to formulate a plan to repay someone for a previous act of aggression.

Closely aligned to the notion of premeditation is the reason that acts of revenge can be worse than initial violations because of the way people internalize anger and aggression. Oftentimes, it is substantially worse to sit and simmer with some un-acted upon emotion than it is to simply act on it. In the former, the fact that people have a lengthier period of time to remember an insult, and to let it affect them for longer than someone who responds immediately, has a greater -- and frequently noxious -- impact upon them. As a result, they are internalizing and carrying around anger and feelings of aggression which can grow greater and greater, eventually overtaking a regular rational response to such an insult.