TOPIC 5 - Operant Conditioning: Punishment Flashcards
Occurrence of a behaviour that is followed by an IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCE that results in the WEAKENING of the behaviour
form of operant conditioning that DECREASES behaviour and makes it less likely to happen in the future
Punishment
Adding something aversive after a behaviour occurs -> decrease likelihood of behaviour happening under the same conditions in the future
positive punishment
REMOVING something appetitive after a behaviour occurs to decrease the likelihood of that behaviour happening under the same conditions in the future
Negative punishment
the process/procedure of providing consequences for a behaviour that decreases the probability of that behaviour in the future
punishment
any event of stimulus that follows an operant response that DECREASES its future probability
punisher
Any event or STIMULUS that when PRESENTED AS A CONSEQUENCE of a behaviour, decreases the future probability of that behaviour
Positive PUNISHER
Any event or STIMULUS that when REMOVED AS A CONSEQUENCE of a behaviour, decreases the future probability of that behaviour
Negative punisher
_______ are defined by their effect on behaviour. If it doesn’t decrease the behaviour, it’s not a _______.
PUNISHER
When using punishment, we need to account for _______ and ______ tendencies, since punishers are things we will try to ______ or avoid given the opportunity
escape
avoidance
Low probability behaviour PUNISHES high probability behaviour
premack principle for punishment
Degree of correlation between a behaviour and its consequence - eg: punisher always follows, only occurs after behaviour
contingency
If a behaviour and a punisher have a predictive association, that indicates strong learning or a ________ contingency
high contingency
If theres a weak association between a behaviour and punisher, that indicates weak/slow learning or a ______ contingency.
low contingency
5 variables affecting punishment (influence effectiveness of punishment)
- Contingency
- Contiguity
- Intensity
- Reinforcement
- Motivating operations
CCIRM
Nearness of events in time (temporal) or space (spatial)
contiguity
time - temporal contiguity
space - spatial contiguity
longer delay or larger distance between behaviour and punisher = ______ (slower/faster) learning
slower learning
Magnitude or severity of a punisher
intensity
- more intense punisher -> stronger learning
- must be INTENSE enough to reduce behaviour dramatically
risks of not using intense punishers:
behaviour doesn’t get suppressed, more punishment with higher intensity needed
- if a reinforcer for a behaviour is more intense than the intensity of the punisher, it may influence the effectiveness of the punisher
- try to use punishment as a last resort - use reinforcements first for good behaviour -> behaviour decreases more rapidly with good reinforcer than punisher
2 types of motivating operations
- Establishing operations - set the scene
- Abolishing operations - satiation
Establishing operations set the scene for making a punisher ______ effective.
Establishing operations set the scene for making a punisher more effective.
Abolishing operations can make a punisher ______ effective through satiation.
Abolishing operations can make a punisher less effective through satiation.
Punishment, escape, and avoidance, are all examples of ________ (2).
aversive contingencies
Overcorrection
Contingent exercise
Guided compliance
Physical restraint
These are all examples of ________ (2) practices.
positive punishment
type of ______ punishment in which the individual has to engage in effortful behaviour related to the problem behaviour:
positive punishment
overcorrection
2 types of Overcorrection:
- Positive practice - doing the correct form of a behaviour for a period of time
- Restitution - must fix the environment disrupted by the problem behaviour
Similar to Overcorrection, __________ (2) is contingent on the problem behaviour, and calls for the individual engaging in some effortful behaviour for a specified period of time, BUT the effortful behaviour is UNRELATED to the problem behaviour.
Contingent Exercise
When problem behaviour tends to occur after the request -> physically guide the individual in the steps to comply with the request
guided compliance
Guided compliance _______ punishes non-compliance, while ______ reinforcing compliance. Positive reinforcement of compliance is easily incorporated.
positively punishes
adding compliance steps as punishment
negatively reinforces
removing guiding of steps -> person does the steps themselves
Body part involved in the behaviour is held immobile for a specified period of time
Physical restraint
physically stopping a behaviour from being completed to prevent problems generated by the behaviour, and to prevent the behaviour from being reinforced
response blocking
Time out
Response Cost
These are examples of _______ punishment.
negative punishment
taking time AWAY from positive reinforcement time -> indicate that behaviour results in a loss of access to a. Positive reinforcer that is maintaining that behaviour
time out
2 types of time outs:
exclusionary - COMPLETELY removed from the location
no exclusionary - prevented from participating, but still in the location
Removing a specific amount of a reinforcer for every time the problem behaviour occurs - eg: swear jar
response cost
Positive punishment, negative reinforcement, and negative punishment would all be examples of applications of ___________ (2) like punishment, escape, and avoidance
aversive contingencies
Escape learning, avoidance learning, and learned helplessness would all be examples of __________
negative reinforcement
When an operant changes the environment from a situaiton where a negative reinforcer (aversive stimulus) is present to one where it was absent -> compatibility with reflexive unconditioned responses affects how quickly a response occurs -> when operant is similar to the reflexive (UR) behaviour elicited by the aversive stimulus, they’re learning not to do that anymore
escape learning
When an operant PREVENTS the OCCURANCE of an aversive stimulus.
- need to have a reliable stimulus in the environment (antecedent) that WARNS the upcoming delivery of the aversive stimulus,
avoidance learning
when a seemingly inescapable situation is always encountered, individuals learning it cannot be stopped or escaped and stop trying
-> false belief they’re unable to alter the situation
-> model for depression and anxiety
Learned helplessness
Creating a situation in which failure of avoidance is not possible is used to treat __________. On the other hand, pre-exposure to escape and avoidance contingencies can block it.
learned helplessness
Critiques of punishment:
- punishment can be reinforcing
- people may try to avoid and escape punishment through/avoidance/escape behaviours like lying, hiding, aggression, and learning when its safe to engage in the behaviour (when it won’t be punished; eg: parents not around)
Punishment doesn’t teach acceptable behaviours, it only _______ behaviours. Acceptable behaviours still need to be _______.
punishment decreases behaviours
acceptable behaviours still need to be reinforced
