Punishment

Question 1

Punishment

Answer 1

Punishment has occurred when a response is followed immediately be a stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of similar responses.

Question 2

A punisher

Answer 2

A consequence that decreases the probability of a response.

Question 3

Positive punishment

Answer 3

The addition of a stimulus after a behaviour that results in a decrease in the probability of that behaviour occurring again under similar circumstances.

Question 4

Negative punishment

Answer 4

The removal of a stimulus after a behaviour that results in a decrease in the probability of that behaviour occurring again under similar circumstances.

Question 5

Time-out

Answer 5

The loss of access to positive reinforcers for a brief period contingent on the behaviour.

Question 6

Unconditioned punishers

Answer 6

A stimulus whose presentation functions as punishment without having been paired with any other punishers.
eg. light, sound, temperature

Question 7

Conditioned punishers

Answer 7

A stimulus change that functions as a result of a person’s conditioning history.

Question 8

Generalized punishers

Answer 8

A stimulus paired with numerous other stimuli. eg. reprimands and social disapproval.

Question 9

Factors influencing punishment

Answer 9

• Immediacy

- Intensity and magnitude

Question 10

Unintended consequences of punishment

Answer 10

• emotional and aggressive behaviours.
• escape and avoidance.
• punishment may involve undesirable modelling.
  Negative reinforcement of the punishing agents behaviour.

Question 11

Extinction

Answer 11

A behaviour that has been previously reinforced, is no longer reinforced, and so the behaviour stops occurring in the future.

Question 12

21 month old boy, tantrums maintained by attention. Parents spent 0.5-2 hours in bedroom every night. First night of extinction he cried for 45 minutes, and gradual reduction over the following nights.

Answer 12

Williams (1959)

Question 13

Variations of extinction

Answer 13

Positive reinforcer is no longer delivered after the behaviour.
OR
Aversive stimulus is no longer removed after the behaviour.

Question 14

Extinction does not mean ignoring!!

Answer 14

It means withdrawing the reinforcer for a behaviour.

Only ignoring if attention is the reinforcer.

Question 15

When an extinction is started, operant behaviour tends to increase in frequency.

Answer 15

Extinction burst

Question 16

Short-lived increase in behaviour that may re-appear after extinction has been introduced although it has not been reinforced.

Answer 16

Spontaneous recovery

Question 17

Occurrence of…

Answer 17

novel behaviours, emotional responses or aggressive behaviour.