Issues in Aversive Control

Question 1

Example 1:
Reducing vomiting with lemon juice punisher =
Behaviour (rumination of food) > Consequence (few drops of lemon juice)
Design?
Lemon reduces throwing up behaviour

Example 2:
Reduction of SIB using water-spray =
Behaviour (self-injury) → Consequence (spray water)
Design?

Answer 1

positive punishment
reversal design

positive punishment
Multiple baseline across subjects

Question 2

Short-term application of punishment may:

1. Reduce behaviours that…
2. Allow an alternative…

Short-term application of punishment does not:
Replace the behaviour…

Answer 2

have the potential to cause long-term damage to the person behaving
behaviour to be shaped

with a more appropriate one by itself (need +ve reinforcement to encourage the behaviour)

Question 3

Side Effects of Punishment:
Stimuli paired with punishment…
e.g., Behaviour (talking in class) → Consequence (teacher shouts) → fear/anxiety

Then people are motivated to…

…then they may elicit emotional responses that are…

Answer 3

become conditioned aversive stimuli
teacher shouting → fear/anxiety
school + teacher shouting → fear/anxiety
school → fear/anxiety → avoid school (SIDE EFFECT)

escape/avoid those stimuli
e.g., truancy → escapes school

incompatible with performing other, more adaptive operant responses i.e., conditioned suppression.

Question 4

Conditioned Suppression vs Punishment 
Presenting a stimulus... 
Punishers: 
- contingent upon... 
- reduce behaviour... 

Conditioned suppression:

• can be caused by…
• reduces behaviour….

Answer 4

that reduces operant behaviour
the behaviour they reduce
through operant processes

non-contingent aversive
through classical processes

Question 5

Side Effects of Punishment:
Aggression & Emotional Responses:
> reflexive aggression -
> undesirable emotional responses may result…

Answer 5

aggression elicited by the presentation of an aversive stimulus/event
e.g., rats fight if they experience non-contingent electric shocks
from use of punishment (e.g., cry, scream)

Question 6

Techniques involving aversive stimuli:
Behaviour analysis can tell you
Behaviour analysis cannot tell you

Answer 6

how to use punishment to most effectively reduce a behaviour
what the side effects of the use of aversive stimuli are likely to be

which behaviours to increase or reduce
how to decide how to weight the advantages and disadvantages