Let's say you're in line to order food. There are a couple of people in line in front of you. Just before ordering, the person in front of you has their food order messed up by the cashier. The cashier made an honest mistake; perhaps because the cashier is inexperienced or simply having a long day. However, instead of waiting for the cashier to correct the order, the person placing the order approached the counter and hit the employee for not correcting the order. What would your reaction be to this? How would others react to this? Most likely everyone, including yourself, would be shocked and surprised. Someone would probably stop the customer from hitting the employee or even call the police. If the cops were involved, charges would most likely be filed and the customer would be charged with assault and battery against the employee. The client, depending on the severity, could receive fines or even prison time. Now, how would you react if you saw a mother spanking her child for doing something wrong? Suppose there was a baby and his mother in front of you and the baby was asking for a baby meal. No matter how many times the mother says she can't have it, the child continues to beg and eventually starts to cry. Perhaps the child has had a long day or is too inexperienced to know that he is taking advantage of his mother's patience. To discipline him, his mother spanks him once or twice. What's everyone's reaction now? Most people would think that the child deserved it for being rambunctious and loud. No one would have held Mom down or even called the police. Why do people see him as so different, when in reality they are very similar in nature? Hitting anyone for no apparent reason, except perhaps that they accidentally did something… middle of paper… support for hypothesis (a) and support for hypothesis (b). (Gromoske & Maguire-Jack, 2012) In this study they found a link between spanking and externalizing behaviors just like in the first study. While they share that similarity, they nevertheless disagree when it comes to internalizing behaviors. The first article found that spanking corresponds to internalizing behaviors, while the second stated that this is not the case. The second article discusses the fact that externalizing behavior is very difficult to study, so difficult that most of the evidence obtained is completely inconclusive. The only conclusive finding that spanking has positive associations with internalizing behavior is when the child is subjected to frequent and abusive spanking. This is why internal behavior is difficult to study in this circumstance. No one wants to subject children to frequent and violent spankings.