Punishment Flashcards
Punishment
response –> consequence contingency that suppresses the future frequency of similar responses
When a response is followed immediately by a stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of similar responses
a punishment has occurred
Punishment is defined by…
neither the actions of the person delivering the consequences nor by the nature of those consequences
Punishment qualifies as…
a decrease in the future frequency of the occurrence of the behavior must be observed before a consequence-based intervention
Positive Punishment
the presentation of a stimulus immediately following a behavior that results in a decrease in the frequency of the behavior
Negative Punishment
the termination of an already present stimulus immediately following a behavior that results in a decrease in the future frequency of the behavior
Positive + Negative Punishment can be referred to as …
type I punishment
type II punishment
Aversive Control (umbrella term)
intervention involving either or both of these two principles:
- positive punishment
- negative reinforcement
three-term contingency
S –> R –> SP
The suppressive effects of the punishment will be most prevalent under those conditions…
if the punishment occurs only in some stimulus conditions and not others
SDP
a stimulus condition in the presence of which a response has a lower probability of occurrence than it does in its absence as a result of response-contingent punishment delivery in the presence of the stimulus
when punishment is discontinued its suppressive effects on responding are usually
not permanent
Recovery from punishment
permanent response suppression may occur when complete suppression of behavior to a zero rate of responding has been achieved with intense punishment
Punish-er
a stimulus change that immediately follows the occurrence of a behavior and reduces the future frequency of that type of behavior
Unconditioned Punisher
a stimulus whose presentation functions as punishment without having been paired with any other punishers
product of evolutionary history of a species (phylogeny)
Conditioned Punisher
a stimulus change that functions as punishment as a result of a person’s conditioning history
*acquires capability to function as a punisher through stimulus-stimulus pairing with one or more unconditioned or conditioned punishers
Generalized Conditioned Punisher
a stimulus change that has been paired with numerous forms of unconditioned and conditioned punishers
*free from control of specific motivating conditions and will function as punishment under most conditions
Punishers, like reinforcers, are not defined by…
their physical properties but by their functions
Factors that influence the effectiveness
- immediacy
- intensity
- schedule/frequency
- availability of reinforcement for target behavior
- availability of reinforcement for an alternative behavior
Possible Side Effects/Problems
- elicitation of undesirable emotional response and aggression
- escape/avoidance
- increased rate of problem behavior under non-punishment
- modeling undesirable behavior
- not teaching the what TO DO
- overusing punishment because of the negative reinforcement it provides the punishing agent (punishment loop)
Reprimands
delivery of verbal reprimands following the occurrence of misbehavior
*example of attempted positive punishment
Response Blocking
physically intervening as soon as the person begins to emit the problem behavior to prevent (block) the completion of the response
*has been shown to be effective in reducing the frequency of some problem behaviors
Contingent Exercise
an intervention in which a person is required to perform a response that is not topographically related to the problem behavior
Overcorrection
a behavior change tactic based on positive punishment in which, contingent to the problem behavior, the learner is required to engage in effortful behavior that is directly or logically related to the problem
Restitutional Overcorrection
contingent on problem behavior, that learner is required to repair/return the environment to its original state + then to engage in additional behavior to bring the environment to a condition vastly better that it was in prior to the misbehavior
Positive Practice Overcorrection
contingent on an occurrence of the target behavior the learner is required to repeat a correct form of the behavior or a behavior incompatible with the problem ( a specified number of times)
Time-out from Positive Reinforcement
- withdrawal of the opportunity to earn positive reinforcement
- loss of access to reinforcers for a specified time
- contingent upon the occurrence of a target behavior
Planned-Ignoring
usually attention, physical contact, or verbal interaction are removed for a brief period
Response Cost
- loss of the specific amount of reinforcement
- contingent upon a target behavior
- reduces the future probability of the target behavior
example is loss of tokens
Right to safe and humane treatment
first ethical canon and responsibility for any human services program is to do no harm
Least Restrictive Alternative
less intrusive procedures should be tried and found to be ineffective before more intrusive procedures are implemented
