Use of Rewards and Punishments to Reduce Aggressive Behavior in Early Childhood Children at Xavier Kairagi Catholic Kindergarten

The implementation of rewards and punishments as a strategy to reduce aggressive behavior in early childhood was examined at Xaverius Catholic Kindergarten Kairagi. Within this setting, there were two children who frequently disrupted their peers during learning and play activities. These children often exhibited aggressive actions, such as hitting and pinching their friends. Although the teacher had made efforts to address these behaviors—primarily through verbal reprimands and disciplinary measures, such as prohibiting the children from sitting near their peers—these attempts were not effective. Such behavior not only harms the children themselves but also hinders the learning experience of their peers. To address this issue, specifically the behavior of pinching and hitting, the researcher implemented a strategy involving the use of rewards and punishments to reduce aggressive behavior in early childhood. The central research question of this study was: Can the application of rewards and punishments reduce aggressive behavior in early childhood at Xaverius Catholic Kindergarten Kairagi? The objective of this research was to explore the effectiveness of rewards and punishments in decreasing aggressive tendencies among young children. The study employed a single-subject experimental design (single-subject research) with an A-B-A-B pattern. Data collection methods included interviews, observations, and document analysis. The participants of the study were the two aggressive children identified earlier. Data analysis involved plotting the findings on an A-B-A-B research graph, distinguishing between baseline and intervention phases (A1 and B1), as well as between the initial baseline and the second intervention phases (A1 and B2). Through graph analysis, changes in behavior level, trend stability, and overlapping data were assessed to evaluate the impact of applying rewards and punishments with an interval schedule on aggressive behavior. The results indicated that the implementation of rewards and punishments successfully reduced aggressive behavior in both subjects. However, some aggressive behaviors reappeared after one, two, and three weeks without intervention. The researcher recommends replicating this study with other children exhibiting aggressive behavior to confirm the broader applicability of rewards and punishments as an approach to reducing aggression in early childhood, particularly among kindergarten children aged 3–4 years in North Sulawesi. Keywords: reward, punishment, aggressive behaviour