Operant Punishment

Question 1

What opinions did Machiavelli and Benjamin Franklin have regarding punishment?

Answer 1

Machiavelli thought that punishment teaches a fear that keeps one alive, while Franklin thought that to be feared was horrible.

Question 2

What percentage of Americans approve of the use of physical (corporal) punishment in schools?

Answer 2

50%

Question 3

Define punishment.

Answer 3

Punishment is the procedure of providing consequences that reduce the strength of behaviour.

Question 4

What are the three features of punishment?

Answer 4

1) a behaviour must have a consequence
2) the behaviour must decrease in strength
3) the reduction in strength must be the result of the consequence.

Question 5

What are punishers?

Answer 5

Punishers are the consequences involved with punishment (e.g., reprimands, fines, spanking)

Question 6

What are the two types of punishment?

Answer 6

1) positive punishment -something aversive is added to the situation to reduce the behaviour
2) negative punishment - something enjoyable is removed from the situation to reduce the behaviour

Question 7

How does punishment differ from negative reinforcement?

Answer 7

Punishment weakens the behaviour whereas negative reinforcement strengthens it.

Question 8

Describe how the contingency variable influences the effectiveness of punishment.

Answer 8

• The degree to which the procedure weakens a behaviour varies with the degree to which a punishing event is correlated with that behaviour. The greater the degree of contingency between a behaviour and a punishing event, the faster that the behaviour changes (i.e., the punishment must be consistent with the behaviour).

Question 9

Describe how the contiguity variable influences the effectiveness of punishment.

Answer 9

The longer the delay between the behaviour and the punishing consequence, the less effective the procedure.

Question 10

Describe how Abramowitz and O’Leary demonstrated the relative effectiveness of immediate punishment in examining off-task behaviour.

Answer 10

The researchers studied the effects of immediate and delayed reprimands of when 1st and 2nd graders were off task in class. The reprimands were only effective when delivered immediately; when delivered 2 minutes after the behaviour, they were useless.

Question 11

Describe how the intensity of punishment influences its effectiveness.

Answer 11

• Mild punishers have little effect.
• mildest electric shocks had little effect on deterring rats from pressing a lever for food, whereas the strongest shock essentially brought lever pressing to a complete stop.

Question 12

Both Thorndike and Skinner performed experiments that showed that punishment was ineffective in reducing the strength of responding. What was wrong with these experiments?

Answer 12

Both researchers concluded that punishment had little effect and that effect is only temporary. This conclusion, however, proved false. The problem with these studies was that the researchers used very weak punishes. Studies with stronger punishers get much better results.

Question 13

Explain why the initial selection of punishment intensity is important in making punishment effective. What are the implications for parents, teachers, and judges?

Answer 13

• The problem with beginning with a weaker punisher and gradually increasing its intensity is that the punished behaviour will tend to persist during these increases, and in the end a far greater level of punisher may be required to suppress the behaviour. It is, therefore, important to begin with an effective level of punishment from the very beginning. A punisher that may have been effective at the outset can become ineffective when a series of weaker ones are presented first.
• It is common for parents, teachers and judges to do this, in that they start with a mild consequence and if the result is not satisfactory gradually increase the level of punishment. Instead of attaining the desired result, the person is instead increasing their tolerance for successively higher levels of punishment.

Question 14

Describe how the effectiveness of punishment is influenced by the reinforcers available for the punished behaviour.

Answer 14

The effectiveness of a punishment procedure depends on the frequency, amount and quality of reinforcement the behaviour produces.

Question 15

Describe how inappropriate behaviour in a psychiatric hospital was differentially reinforced.

Answer 15

Abnormal behaviour was reinforced in this study because the hospital’s staff ignored normal behaviour and only paid attention to abnormal behaviour.

Question 16

Describe how the availability of sources of reinforcement for alternative behaviours influences the effectiveness of punishment (in relation to a study on psychiatric patients).

Answer 16

When the patients in Rosenhan’s study were given an alternative (non-disruptive) way of obtaining reinforcers, however, they elected to do that. Punishment completely suppressed the original behaviour when there was an alternative means of obtaining reinforcement. It is important that individuals are able to receive reinforcement in more acceptable ways to allow punishment to be maximally effective (so that reinforcement isn’t interfering with punishment).

Question 17

13. Explain how the level of deprivation influences the effectiveness of punishment

Answer 17

Punishment is less effective when the individual is desperate for what is attained by the inappropriate act.
E.g., punishing a hungry person when the behaviour will allow them to eat is ineffective compared to when the person is full.

Question 18

What is the disruption theory of punishment?

Answer 18

Response suppression is due to the disruptive effects of aversive stimuli. Skinner says that the punished behaviour is temporarily suppressed by an emotional reaction elicited by the aversive stimuli.

Question 19

What are the two problems with the disruption theory of punishment?

Answer 19

1) that the effects of punishment are not as transient as Skinner thought if sufficiently strong aversive are used
2) punishment has a greater suppressive effect on behaviour than does aversive stimulation that is independent of behaviour.

Thus, unable to explain the discrepancy in performance between contingent and non-contignent aversives.

Question 20

Describe the two-process theory of punishment. What is the problem with it?

Answer 20

punishment involves both Pavlovian and operant procedures. This theory is flawed in that it predicts that punishment would reduce responding in proportion to its proximity to the punished behaviour, but it has been shown that individuals are just as likely to respond to all aspects of the study despite their proximity to the punished behaviour.

Question 21

Describe the one-process theory of punishment (Thorndike).

Answer 21

Only operant conditioning is involved with punishment, and punishment weakens behaviour in the same manner that reinforcement strengthens it.

Question 22

What evidence supports the one-process theory of punishment?``

Answer 22

Research has shown strong punishers to produce effects parallel to reinforcement. In reflection of the Premack principle, low probability behaviour punishes/suppresses high probability behaviour.

Question 23

Why is punishment used so frequently?

Answer 23

It produces a rapid and substantial reduction in the punished behaviour. If reinforcement of the unwanted behaviour is discontinued and an alternative way of providing the same reinforcement is there, the punished behaviour may entirely disappear. It is also fast and can produce a permanent suppression of the behaviour when done properly.

Question 24

What are the 5 potential problems associated with the use of punishment?

Answer 24

1) Escape
2) Aggression
3) Apathy - when escape and aggression aren’t possible and there are no reinforcers to counterweight the punishments
4) Abuse
5) Imitation of the abuser

Question 25

What is response prevention?

Answer 25

• A procedure that alters the environment in some way to prevent the undesirable behaviour from occurring.
• E.g., putting off-limits items out of reach, and putting boxing gloves on a child who sucks his thumbs.
• The simplest and fastest way of reducing unwanted behaviour, especially in young children.

Question 26

Describe the use of extinction as an alternative to punishment.

Answer 26

• Extinction involves withholding all reinforcement of a given behaviour. To do this, one must identify all of the reinforcers that maintain the behaviour (i.e., attention).

Question 27

What are the pros and cons of using extinction as an alternative to punishment?

Answer 27

• Good when response prevention isn’t practical and the reinforcers are identifiable.
• Extinction burst is a major limitation, though, by provoking emotional (often aggressive) outbursts which can lead people to abandon the procedure quickly, or even temporarily which can make the situation worse by going between reinforcement and extinction.
• Another limitation is that the behaviour declines slowly which is annoying and sometimes dangerous depending on the behaviour.
• Also limited if the reinforcers maintaining the behaviour are out of control - the procedure cannot be used if reinforcers cannot be removed.

Question 28

What is differential reinforcement?

Answer 28

When extinction and reinforcement are used together to reduce the frequency of a behaviour.

Question 29

Define a DRL schedule of reinforcement

Answer 29

The differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) describes reinforcers being provided for a behaviour, but only when it occurs infrequently. One would then increase the interval between incidences. This is appropriate when the behaviour is appropriate but occurs too frequently

Question 30

Define a DRO schedule of reinforcement.

Answer 30

A differential reinforcement of zero responding (DRO) describes when reinforcement is contingent on not performing the behaviour for a specific period of time. This method is appropriate if the goal is to eliminate the behaviour entirely.

Question 31

Define a DRI schedule of reinforcement.

Answer 31

A differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviour (DRI) describes when a behaviour that is incompatible with the unwanted behaviour is reinforced.

Question 32

Define a DRA schedule of reinforcement.

Answer 32

Differential reinforcement of alternative behaviour (DRA) describes making reinforcers that were available for the problem behaviour contingent on a more desirable behaviour. This has been found to be a very effective method.

Question 33

Define non-contingent reinforcement and describe its use to weaken undesirable behaviour.

Answer 33

• It is reinforcement delivered without regard to behaviour to weaken an unwanted behaviour. One must identify the reinforcers that maintain the unwanted behaviour, and then provide those reinforcers on a regular basis regardless of what the person is doing to reduce the value of the reinforcer.

Question 34

What problems can arise when using non-contingent reinforcement?

Answer 34

One may end up coincidentally offering a reinforcement for another undesirable behaviour