Achieving the opposite of what you intended; something that harms your goal instead of helping it.
From counter- (against, opposite) + productive (producing results). Counter- comes from Old French contre, from Latin contra (against). The compound emerged in English around the 20th century to describe actions that backfire against their stated purpose.
Punishment is often counterproductive for learning—studies show harsh punishment makes people less likely to trust authority and more likely to hide mistakes, the exact opposite of what educators want.
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