Chapter 15

Question 1

*Briefly describe how Ben’s aggressive behavior was eliminated.

Answer 1

A punishment program was used with Ben and was implemented by the teacher and teacher aides at the public school that he attended. The punisher for Ben’s aggressive behavior consisted of a contingent exercise. When Ben hit someone else, an adult said, “Ben, no hitting. Stand up and sit down 10 times.” The adult then held Ben’s hand above his head to prompt him to stand up, then pulled his upper body forward to prompt him to sit down. After the first day, only verbal reminders were necessary to prompt Ben to perform the contingent exercise following aggressive behavior. The program was highly successful.

Question 2

*How was stimulus control an important part of the punishment contingency for Ben?

Answer 2

Stimulus control was an important part of the punishment contingency for Ben in that the punisher was not a particular stimulus (such as a slap on the hand) presented following an undesirable behavior, but rather a behavior that Ben had to engage in (namely, exercise). Because it was necessary that the exercise occur immediately following an undesirable aggressive behavior, it was important that the exercise be under the stimulus control of the verbal commands and prompting by the staff.

Question 3

What is a punisher? Describe an example that you experienced. Identify both the response and the punisher.

Answer 3

A punisher is an immediate consequence of an operant behavior that causes that behavior to decrease in frequency. Punishers are sometimes referred to as aversive stimuli, or simply aversives. Once an event has been determined to function as a punisher for a particular behavior of an individual in a particular situation, that event can be used to decrease other operant behaviors of that individual in other situations.

Question 4

State the principle of punishment.

Answer 4

Associated with the concept of a punisher is the principle of punishment: If, in a given situation, someone emits an operant behavior that is immediately followed by a punisher, then that person is less likely to emit that behavior again when she or he next encounters a similar situation. In Ben’s case, contingent exercise was a punisher for his hitting.

Question 5

How does the meaning of the word punishment for behavior modifiers differ from three meanings of that word for most people?

Answer 5

Note that the technical meaning of the word punishment for behavior modifiers is quite specific and differs in three ways from the common meaning of the word for most people: (1) it occurs immediately a er the problem behavior; (2) it is not a form of moral sanction, vengeance, or retribution; (3) it is not used to deter others from engaging in the target behavior. Consider, for example, a common use of the word punishment in our culture: Sending a person to prison is seen as punishment for committing a crime.

Question 6

Define unconditioned punisher. Describe an example that illustrates the complete definition.

Answer 6

The most common physical punishers activate pain receptors, technically called nociceptors. ese are nerve endings located throughout the body that detect pressure, stretching, and temperature changes strong enough to potentially cause tissue damage and that when activated are experienced as pain. Examples of stimuli that activate these receptors are spankings, slaps, pinches, hair tugging, extreme cold or heat, very loud sounds, and electric shocks. Such stimuli are called unconditioned punishers, which are stimuli that are punishing without prior learning. Of course, there are other stimuli, e.g., bad smells and tastes, that can cause discomfort without prior learning but that do not involve nociceptors. These are also included as physical punishers.

Question 7

Describe or define four different types of punishers. Give an example of each.

Answer 7

Most of these events can be classified in the following categories:

(a) physical punisher - Examples of stimuli that activate these receptors are spankings, slaps, pinches, hair tugging, extreme cold or heat, very loud sounds, and electric shocks.
(b) reprimand - An example would be a parent saying, “No! at was bad!” immediately a er a child emits an undesirable behavior. Reprimands also o en include a fixed stare and, sometimes, a firm grasp. A stimulus that is a punisher as a result of having been paired with another punisher is called a conditioned punisher.
(c) timeout - there are two types of timeout: exclusionary and non-exclusionary. An exclusionary time- out consists of removing an individual briefly from a reinforcing situation immediately following a behavior. Often a special room, called a timeout room, is used for this purpose. It is bare of anything that might serve as a reinforcer and may be padded to prevent self-injury. e period in the timeout room should not be very long; about 4 to 5 minutes is usually quite effective
(d) response cost - Response cost is sometimes used in behavior modification programs in which learners earn tokens as reinforcers. Working in a classroom setting, for example, Sullivan and O’Leary showed that loss of tokens—each of which could be exchanged for 1 minute of recess—for off-task behavior successfully decreased it. As another example, Capriotti et al. demonstrated that token loss was an effective response-cost punisher for decreasing tics in children with Tourette’s. For a third example, Johnson and Dixon showed that in a contrived gambling experiment with two pathological gamblers engaging in gambling behaviors that involved response chains charging poker chips to engage in certain components of the chains decreased responding in those components. Note that response cost differs from a timeout in that, when response cost is administered, the individual does not temporarily lose the opportunity to earn reinforcers.

Question 8

Under which of the four categories of punishment would you put the type of punishment used with Ben? Justify your choice.

Answer 8

It might be considered to be physical punishment in that exercise often produces feelings of discomfort. ?

It might be considered to be time out in that exercising was probably a less reinforcing state for Ben than whatever he was doing when he was not exercising. ?

Question 9

Define conditioned punisher. Give an example that is not in this chapter.

Answer 9

A reprimand is a strong negative verbal stimulus immediately contingent on behavior. An example would be a parent saying, “No! at was bad!” immediately a er a child emits an undesirable behavior. Reprimands also often include a fixed stare and, sometimes, a firm grasp. A stimulus that is a punisher as a result of having been paired with another punisher is called a conditioned punisher. It is likely that the verbal component of a reprimand is a conditioned punisher. It is possible that other components, such as a firm grasp, are unconditioned punishers. In some cases, the effectiveness of reprimands has been increased by pairing them with other punishers. For example, Dorsey, Iwata, Ong, and McSween (1980) paired reprimands with a water-mist spray to suppress self-injurious behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. is caused the reprimands to become effective not only in the original setting but also in a setting where the mist had not been used.

Question 10

Distinguish between an exclusionary and non-exclusionary timeout.

Answer 10

There are two types of timeout: exclusionary and non-exclusionary. An exclusionary time- out consists of removing an individual briefly from a reinforcing situation immediately following a behavior. Often a special room, called a timeout room, is used for this purpose. It is bare of anything that might serve as a reinforcer and may be padded to prevent self-injury. e period in the timeout room should not be very long; about 4 to 5 minutes is usually quite effective.

A non-exclusionary timeout consists of introducing into the situation, immediately following a behavior, a stimulus associated with less reinforcement. Foxx and Shapiro (1978) reported an example of this. Children in a classroom wore a ribbon that was removed for a short time when a child was disruptive. When not wearing the ribbon, the child was not allowed to participate in classroom activities and was ignored by the teacher.

Question 11

*What is an example of response-cost punishment that parents commonly apply to their children?

Answer 11

Examples might include taking away a child’s allowance or TV watching or computer-use privileges as a punisher for undesirable behavior.

Question 12

State the procedures for extinction, response cost, and exclusionary timeout.

Answer 12

Note that response cost differs from a timeout in that, when response cost is administered, the individual does not temporarily lose the opportunity to earn reinforcers.

Response cost is also not to be confused with operant extinction (see Chapter 8). In an operant extinction procedure, a reinforcer is withheld following a previously reinforced response; whereas, in response cost, a reinforcer is taken away following an undesirable response.

Question 13

Distinguish between the direct-acting and indirect-acting effects of punishment. Give an example of each.

Answer 13

The direct-acting effect of punishment is the decreased frequency of a response because of its immediate punishing consequences. e indirect-acting effect of punishment is the weakening of a response that is followed by a punisher even though the punisher is delayed. Suppose that a person speeds through an intersection, is caught by photo radar, and receives a ticket in the mail a week later. Although that procedure may reduce the person’s future speeding, it involves much more than the principle of punishment. Delayed punishers may have an effect on behavior because of instructions about the behavior leading to the punisher. Self-statements, images, or immediate conditioned punishers may intervene between the behavior and the delayed punisher. It is a mistake to offer punishment as an overly simplistic explanation of a decrease in behavior when the punisher does not follow the behavior immediately.

Question 14

What are three reasons that could explain the effectiveness of a delayed punisher in decreasing a behavior?

Answer 14

Delayed punishers may have an effect on behavior because of instructions about the behavior leading to the punisher. Self-statements, images, or immediate conditioned punishers may intervene between the behavior and the delayed punisher. It is a mistake to offer punishment as an overly simplistic explanation of a decrease in behavior when the punisher does not follow the behavior immediately. ?

Question 15

*If you do a good job of attending to the first two factors influencing the effectiveness of punishment, you may not have to apply punishment. Discuss.

Answer 15

This first factor includes presenting SDs and reinforcers for a desirable alternative response. This alternative response hopefully is incompatible with and will decrease the probability of the undesirable behavior. The second factor influencing the effectiveness of punishment consists of minimizing the causes of the response to be punished. This is typically done by eliminating the SDs that prompt the undesirable behavior and identifying and eliminating reinforcement contingencies that have been maintaining it. Careful attention to these first two factors may yield some desirable alternative behavior that competes so strongly with the behavior to be decreased that punishment will never have to be used.

Question 16

What are two conditions under which a mild punisher can be effective?

Answer 16

Even a mild punisher, such as a reprimand, can be effective if the reinforcer for the undesirable behavior is withheld following instances of the behavior and if a desirable alternative behavior is reinforced with a strong reinforcer. For example, Thompson et al. (1999) evaluated the effects of reprimands and brief manual restraint as mild punishers contingent on the self-injurious behavior of four individuals who had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities. In all cases, the mild punishers produced greater response suppression when access to a reinforcer for desirable alternative behavior—manipulation of leisure materials—was available.

Question 17

*What steps might you follow to experimentally determine whether a verbal reprimand is a punisher for a particular child?

Answer 17

Stimuli are identified as punishers on the basis of an experimental test. To determine if a verbal reprimand is a punisher for a particular child, you would choose a behavior of that child that occurs once in a while and keep track of it during a period of time when the verbal reprimand is not presented. Once a base rate of that particular behavior has been obtained, the verbal reprimand would then be introduced as a consequence of the behavior each time that it occurs. After several such trials, when the behavior is consequated by the verbal reprimand, the performance will tell you if the verbal reprimand is a punisher. If the behavior preceding the verbal reprimand has decreased relative to the base rate, then the verbal reprimand is a punisher for that particular child.

Question 18

Compare SD to SDp. Give an example of each from your own experience.

Answer 18

You will recall from Chapter 11 that an SD is a stimulus in the presence of which a response will be reinforced. Similarly, an SDp is a stimulus in the presence of which a response will be punished.2 Children quickly learn that ask- ing parents for something when they are in a bad mood o en leads to a reprimand. Parental behaviors characteristic of “being in a bad mood” constitute an SDp. Research on the effects of SDps has shown that if in the presence of an SDp a punisher is consistently applied following a response, then that response is less likely to occur when the SDp is encountered (e.g., O’Donnell, Crosbie, Williams, & Saunders, 2000).

Question 19

Compare S∆ to SDp. Give an example of each from your own experience.

Answer 19

Beginning students of behavior analysis o en confuse an SDp with an S∆. Suppose, for example, that for each time a child swore, the parents deducted 25 cents from the child’s allowance and that, as a result of this response-cost contingency, the swearing decreased. In this example, the sight of the parents would be an SDp for swearing. If, on the other hand, the parents simply ignored the child when swearing and the swearing decreased as a result of this operant extinction contingency, then the sight of the parents would be an S∆ for swearing. In both scenarios, the presence of the parents would eliminate the swearing. However, the causes of the behavior change are different.

Question 20

What are four guidelines in regard to delivering a punisher?

Answer 20

To increase the effectiveness of punishment when delivering it, several guidelines should be followed.

1. The punisher should be presented immediately following the undesirable behavior.
2. The punisher should be presented following every instance of the undesirable behavior.
3. The delivery of the punisher should not be paired with positive reinforcement.
4. The person administering the punisher should remain calm when doing so.

Question 21

We suggested that if behavior modifiers are unable to detect most instances of a behavior to be punished, they should have serious doubts about the value of implementing a punishment procedure.

a. Give two reasons to support this suggestion.
b. What alternative means for decreasing behavior are available to the behavior modifier (see Chapters 8 and 14)?

Answer 21

If behavior modifiers are unable to detect most instances of the behavior to be punished, they should have serious doubts about the value of implementing a punishment procedure for two reasons. First, occasions in which a behavior modifier is unable to detect instances of the undesirable behavior may be occasions in which the undesirable behavior is positively reinforced, which would maintain its strength. Second, punishment procedures have negative side effects (to be discussed later), and it may be unethical to implement a procedure that may not be effective when that procedure also has negative side effects.

the teacher can apply extinction (ie present SDs for desirable alternative behaviours

and present SΔ for the behaviour to be decreased), reinforce the client on a DRL

for the response to be decreased, reinforce the client on a DRO for the response

to be decreased, or reinforce the client on a DRI or a DRA with respect to the

response to be decreased.

Question 22

In two or three sentences, describe either the case of the lemon juice therapy with Sandra or the ice cube therapy with Gerri.

Answer 22

An example of possibly life-saving therapeutic punishment is the treatment of a 6-month-old baby who was admitted to a hospital because of a failure to gain weight (Sajwaj, Libet, & Agras, 1974). Sandra was underweight and undernourished, and death was a distinct possibility. Preliminary observations indicated that, a few minutes a er being given milk, Sandra would begin ruminating—or bringing up the milk and reswallowing it. is would continue for about 20 to 40 minutes. Because some of the regurgitated milk would spill out of her mouth, she apparently lost most of the milk she had ingested. Sajwaj and his colleagues decided to administer lemon juice as a punisher of Sandra’s rumi- nating behavior. During treatment, her mouth was filled with lemon juice immediately a er staff members detected the vigorous tongue movements that reliably preceded her rumination. A er 16 feedings with lemon juice punishment, the rumination had decreased to a very low level. To ensure that the improvement was due to the treatment program, Sajwaj and his colleagues suspended the use of lemon juice for two feedings. e result was a dramatic increase in rumination. Following additional treatment, Sandra was discharged to foster parents, who maintained the treatment until it was no longer necessary.

Another example involves a severe case of bruxism—the constant grinding of one’s teeth. Gerri was a 16-year- old girl with profound intellectual disability who had been grinding her teeth almost ever since her permanent teeth had grown in. Her teeth were severely worn and were in danger of being lost. Behavior analysts were consulted about the problem (Blount, Drabman, Wilson, & Stewart, 1982). A er considering a variety of reinforcement procedures and rejecting them for various reasons, they settled on a mild pain-inducing punishment procedure. Each time Gerri audibly ground her teeth, a staff member touched her face with an ice cube for a few seconds. Gerri’s teeth grinding decreased considerably within the first few days of treatment, and a er 2 months of this procedure, her bruxism had almost completely ceased.

Question 23

*What is pica? What factors influencing the effectiveness of punishment did Johnston, Hunt, &Siebert (1994) incorporate into their treatment for pica?

Answer 23

Pica is the eating of inedible or non-nutritive substances. The program by Johnson et al. included: (a) maximizing the conditions for a desirable alternative response; (b) selecting an effective punisher; and (c) delivering the punisher immediately following each instance of a problem behavior.

Question 24

Briefly describe the procedure that Mathews et al. taught mothers to decrease dangerous behaviors of their 1-year- old children. Was the timeout component exclusionary or non-exclusionary? Justify your choice.

Answer 24

As another example, Mathews, Friman, Barone, Ross, and Christophersen (1987) taught mothers to use a reprimand combined with a timeout to decrease dangerous behaviors—e.g., touching an electrical cord outlet—of their 1-year-old children. A mother would praise her child for playing appropriately, say “No,” and place the child in a playpen for a brief period immediately contingent upon the occurrence of a dangerous behavior. The intervention effectively decreased the dangerous behavior for all of the children.

Question 25

Cite six potential harmful side effects of the application of punishment.

Answer 25

1. Aggressive behavior
2. Emotional behavior
3. Escape and avoidance behavior
4. No new behavior
5. Modeling of punishment
6. Overuse of punishment

Question 26

Briefly describe the right-to-effective-treatment and freedom-from-harm positions concerning the deliberate use of punishment treatment procedures.

Answer 26

On the one hand, the right-to-effective-treatment position is that a client’s right to effective treatment might in some cases dictate the use of quicker-acting punishment procedures rather than slower-acting procedures involving positive reinforcement of alternative behavior (see Van Houten et al., 1988). On the other hand, the freedom-from-harm position is that non-aversive methods for eliminating unacceptable behavior are always at least as effective as punishment and that, therefore, using pain-inducing punishment is never justified

Question 27

Describe an example of functional communication training.

Answer 27

During the 1980s and 1990s, advocates of this latter position described a variety of alter- natives to punishment for treating challenging behavior. For example, Carr and Durand (1985) observed that some children with developmental disabilities emitted self-injurious behavior to obtain caregiver attention. They developed a procedure called functional communication training (FCT) in which the children were taught a simple communicative response—e.g., ringing a bell—as an alternative to self-abuse to obtain staff attention. e self-injurious behavior was effectively eliminated. Another example of this approach was reported by Kuhn, Chirighin, and Zelenka (2010) who taught two children with developmental disabilities to use a vocal communication response—e.g., “Excuse me”— instead of a variety of problem behaviors—e.g., head banging, throwing objects—to get staff attention. ey also taught the children to discriminate when staff were “busy”—e.g., talking on the phone—or “non-busy”—e.g., reading a magazine— and to request attention primarily when staff were “non-busy.” Nevertheless, some research has indicated that functional communication training combined with punishment of a problem behavior is more effective than functional commuinication training alone (Hagopian et al., 1998; Hanley, Piazza, Fisher, & Maglieri, 2005). However, Greer, Fisher, Saini, Owen, and Jones (2016) described procedures for maintaining the effectiveness of FCT while minimizing the need for punishment procedures.

Question 28

*List six conditions that should be met for behavior modifiers to design punishment programs.

Answer 28

Because punishment can have a number of potentially harmful side effects, we recommend that behavior modifiers consider designing punishment programs only when:

• The behavior is very maladaptive, and it is in the client’s best interest to bring about rapid behavior change.
• Clear steps are taken to maximize the conditions for a desirable alternative response and to minimize the causes of the response to be punished before resorting to punishment.
• The client or the client’s parent or guardian provides informed consent (see Chapter 29).
• The intervention meets ethical standards (see Chapter 29).
• Punishment is applied according to clear guidelines (see p. 161).

Question 29

*In view of the controversy regarding the use of punishment, do you agree with the way punishment was used with Ben? Defend your answer.

Answer 29

Students may take different positions on this. Issues that you might consider in your answers are:

Was a procedure that did not involve punishment attempted first, and if not, why not?

Was the use of a punishment procedure justified by the seriousness of the problem?

How aversive was the contingent exercise procedure?

Was the procedure carried out in a humiliating, demeaning manner to Ben, and if so, could it have been made less so?

Could the positive effects of the procedure have been achieved just as well or better with a nonaversive procedure?

(How you approach these issues will determine the position that you take.)

Contingent exercise turned out to be a suitable punisher for Ben. It was highly effective, could be presented immediately following the undesirable behavior, and could be presented in a manner so that it was in no way paired with positive reinforcement. e care and attention that the staff gave to choosing the actual exercise task obviously paid off. e staff chose the task because it could be prompted by a voice command from a staff member, it could be carried out in a variety of settings, and it appeared to tire Ben quickly without causing any unnecessary strain. ?

Question 30

Describe an example of how punishment is applied by people who are not aware that they are doing so.

Answer 30

People who are not aware that they are doing so often apply punishment. A common example is criticizing or ridiculing a person for inadequate behavior. Criticism and ridicule are punishing and will likely suppress future instances of that behavior. Yet the inadequate behavior that is criticized and ridiculed may be an approximation of more adequate behavior. Suppressing it could destroy the individual’s opportunity to obtain the more desired behavior through the use of shaping. In everyday language, the individual becomes discouraged and gives up in his or her attempt to develop adequate behavior. In addition, because he or she may attempt to escape from and avoid the person administering the criticism and ridicule (see Chapter 16), that person will lose a great deal of potential reinforcing effectiveness.

Another example of someone applying punishment without being aware of it is the person who says, “ at was good, but . . .” Suppose a teenager helps a parent with the dishes and the parent replies, “ anks for helping, but next time don’t be so slow.” We are sure that, based on the foregoing discussion, you can describe a much more effective and pleasant way for the parent to react.