Topics 17 & 18: Applying Punishment Flashcards
Time Out From Positive Reinforcement
A type of negative punishment in which, contingent on the occurrence of the problem behaviour, the person loses access to positive reinforcers for a brief period
Typically, the person is removed from the reinforcing environment in a time-out procedure
Non-exclusionary Time-Out
A type of time-out procedure in which, contingent on the problem behaviour, the person is removed from all sources of reinforcement but is not removed from the room where the problem behaviour occurred
Exclusionary Time-Out
A time-out procedure in which the person is briefly removed from the reinforcing environment, typically to another room, contingent on the occurrence of a problem behaviour
Time-In
The environment from which the child is removed during the use of time-out
The time-in environment should be positively reinforcing for time-out to be effective
Contingent Observation
A type of non-exclusionary time-out in which, contingent on the occurrence of the problem behaviour, the person is removed from a reinforcing activity for a brief time and required to sit and observe other people as they continue to engage in the activity
Response Cost
A negative punishment procedure in which, contingent on a behaviour, specified amount of reinforcer is removed
Application of Aversive Activities
A positive punishment in which, contingent on the undesirable behaviour, the client is required to engage in an aversive activity (a low-probability behaviour) to decrease the future probability of the undesirable behaviour
Overcorrection
A positive punishment procedure in which, contingent on the problem behaviour a person is required to engage in effortful activity for a brief period
Positive practice and restitution are two types of overcorrection
Positive Practice
A type of overcorrection procedure in which, contingent on the problem behaviour, the client is required to engage in correct forms of relevant behaviour until the behaviour has been repeated a number of times
Restitution
A type of overcorrection procedure in which, contingent on the occurrence of the problem behaviour, the client is required to correct the environment to a condition better than that which existed before the problem behaviour
Contingent Exercise
A positive punishment procedure involving the application of aversive activities, contingent on the problem behaviour, the person is required to engage in some form of physical exercise
Guided Compliance
A positive punishment procedure used with a person who displays non compliant behaviour, when you make a request and the person refuses to comply, you physically prompt the person to engage in the behaviour
The physical prompt is removed as the person complies with the request on their own
Guided compliance prevents escape from the requested behaviour, and this also serves as an extinction procedure when the non compliant behaviour is negatively reinforced by escape from the requested activity
Physical Restraint
A type of positive punishment procedure in which, contingent on the occurrence of the problem behaviour, the change agent holds immobile the part of the client’s body that is involved in the problem behaviour so that the client cannot continue to engage in the behaviour
Response Blocking
A procedure in which the change agent physically blocks a problem behaviour so that the client cannot complete the response
It is often used in conjunction with brief restraint
Application of Aversive Stimulation
A positive punishment procedure in which an aversive stimulus is delivered contingent on the occurrence of the undesirable behaviour to decrease the future probability of the undesirable behaviour
Informed Consent
The process in which the client is informed of the behaviour modification procedure to be used and agrees in writing to undergo the procedure
Necessary for the use of positive punishment procedures
What are the differences between operant extinction and negative punishment?
In operant extinction: the reinforcer that was supporting the behaviour is no longer given
In negative punishment: a reinforcer is removed or withdrawn
What is the process involved in extinction and it’s results?
Process: stop giving the reinforcer maintaining the behaviour
Results: response weakens or decreased gradually
What is the process involved in time-out and it’s results?
Person is removed from access to reinforcers
Contingent removal of access to reinforcers
Response weakens or decreases rapidly
What is the process involved in response cost and it’s results?
A reinforcer is taken away from the person
Contingent loss of a reinforcer currently possessed
Response weakens or decreases rapidly
What is a time-out from positive reinforcement?
Loss of access to positive reinforcers following an undesirable behaviour
What is a non-exclusionary time-out?
After an undesirable behaviour, person remains in the same room or location as the time-in, but is denied access to reinforcers
E.g. after disruptive behaviour, a student has to put her head down and is not allowed to participate in class
In the same location but no reinforcement
What is contingent observation?
Person is denied access to reinforcers, and must observe others engaging in activities
What is exclusionary time-out?
Following an undesirable behaviour, a person is moved to a different part of the room or location and is denied reinforcers
Or is moved a different room
Person is not allowed to participate in or watch activity, may not even be able to watch others
E.g. having to sit in the corner or on a naughty spot after misbehaving
What is isolation time-out?
Person is removed from the environment in which the reinforcers are available, to a separate setting in which they are alone
E.g. breaking the rules in prison results in solitary confinement
Also called “disciplinary segregation”
What are time-out rooms?
Also called “quiet rooms”, “cool down rooms”, “calming rooms”, or “seclusion rooms”
Intended to help people calm down
Can maintain safety by preventing people from causing physical harm to him/herself, peers, or adults, or causing damage to property
Have been misused and mismanaged in schools in some jurisdictions
Have been the subject of several lawsuits
What are the basic guidelines for time-out rooms?
Should be at least 6 feet x 6 feet
Properly lighted
Properly ventilated
Free of objects or fixtures that could be harmful
Allow audio/visual monitoring of person by supervisor/teacher
Not locked
What are some issues with time-outs?
Time-out decreases undesirable behaviours, but desirable behaviours should also be encouraged
Ensure persons safety during the time-out, no opportunities for SIBs
Consider duration of the time-out period: use shortest duration that is effective
Prevent escape from time-out, if escape cannot be prevented time-out should not be used
Ensure time-out does not inadvertently evoke reinforcement
Determine whether time-out is acceptable for use with vulnerable populations
Why should you consider the reinforcer in time-out?
Time-out does not work with negative reinforcement (e.g. escape) or automatic reinforcement (e.g. self stimulation, like hair pulling)
Ensure time-in procedure
What are the practical concerns of time-out?
Is there enough space to put a person in an exclusionary time-out, or a separate room for isolation time-out?
Can person be physically moved there?
What happens to prisoners subjected to solitary confinement?
They are more likely to land back in prison
It also causes increased incidence of depression and greater risk of premature death
What is response cost?
Removal of a reinforcer following an undesirable behaviour
Can be implemented with tokens or other conditioned reinforcers or privileges
Severity of the punishment does not necessarily produce a greater effect, even modest punishment may be effective
May be even more effective than DRO over the long run
What are examples of response cost?
Paying a fine for parking illegally
Eliminating food dealing and ingesting non food items
Increased completion of math problems by reducing off-task behaviour
What is contingent delay in time-out?
Time-out does not end if behaviour has not ceased during the time-out period
This prevents escape from time-out as serving as negative reinforcement
What are the issues with response cost?
Consider the reinforcer: what will be withdrawn, how much, and for how long, when to withdraw the reinforcer, for people with intellectual impairment remove reinforcer immediately, if using delay inform people immediately
Practical issues: if reinforcer cannot be physically taken away, use tokens or points systems instead
Person may avoid the situation or become aggressive (ensure contingencies are explained in advance)
Determine whether response cost is acceptable for use with vulnerable populations or at a given institution
What is positive punishment?
Includes applying aversive or applying aversive stimuli
What does applying aversive activities involve?
Involves low-probability behaviour that the person does not enjoy doing
Acts as a punisher if it follows a behaviour and decreases it
What is overcorrection?
person has to perform effortful, low-probability behaviors contingent on the problem behavior
positive and negative practice
restitution
What is positive practice?
after a problem behavior, person must correctly perform an opposite or appropriate behavior repeatedly
e.g., after rushing and getting many math problems wrong, a student has to do them over again more slowly
What is negative practice?
after a problem behavior, person must perform the undesirable behavior repeatedly
e.g., after tapping her pencil in class, a student must spend recess tapper her pencil while saying, "This is what I'm not supposed to do"
What is restitution?
after a problem behavior, person must correct the effects of the problem behavior and restore the environment - usually to a condition better than they were initially
e.g. after getting clothes muddy, a child has to wash and iron them and put them away neatly
What is contingent exercise?
after a problem behavior, a person must perform exercise, usually not related to the problem behavior
e.g. drill sergeant makes a recruit do 20 pushups after failing to perform adequately
What is guided complicance?
after a problem behavior, a person is physically guided to complete a requested behavior
like a physical guidance prompt
for many people, guided compliance is aversive
What is physical restraint?
after a problem behavior, the part of the person's body that performed the behavior is immobilized
response blocking and response interruption/redirection
What is response blocking?
behavior analyst physically prevents the person from carrying out or completing the problem behavior
e.g. stopping a child from putting her thumb in her mouth to prevent thumb-sucking
What is response interruption/redirection (RIR)?
combines response blocking and differential reinforcement
after response is blocked, person is prompted to engage in a competing response using a least-to-most prompting hierarchy
e.g. student engages in hand-mouthing; teacher blocks; teacher prompts student to request edible reinforcer
used as treatment for automatically reinforced behaviors
What is aversive stimulation applied?
involves presenting stimuli that are aversive or unpleasant to a person
acts as a punisher if it follows a behavior and decreases it
What are reprimands?
harsh verbal criticism of behavior
e.g. saying "No!" to a child after un undesirable behavior
more effective when paired with eye contact, physical grasp of the shoulders, and close proximity to the person
What is physically aversive stimuli?
cause physical pain, discomfort, or unpleasant sensations
examples: ice cube held against jaw to decrease teeth grinding, ammonia held under nose to reduce SIBs, loud noise to stop finger sucking, SIBIS
What is the order of different functional interventions that must be used before punishment is considered?
1. antecedent control procedures/positive reinforcement/differential reinforcement
2. negative reinforcement
3. extinction
4. negative punishment
5. positive punishment: aversive stimuli should be used only as a last resort
Why should you apply differential reinforcement along with punishment?
e.g. use DRO, DRA, or DRI
punishment indicates what not to do but does not teach desirable behavior
combining punishment with differential reinforcement is more effective than using punishment alone
adverse side-effects of punishment are less likely when differential reinforcement is also used
What are some issues that analysts must face when applying punishment?
conduct a functional assessment to determine the function of the problem behavior
select the most effective punisher
use evidence-based approach in making treatment decisions, if punisher does not have an immediate effect on the target behavior, reconsider the treatment program
consider ethical implications of the use of punishment
What are the ethics of punishment?
informed consent: does the person (or parent/legal guardian) agree to the treatment program?
alternative treatments: have other (less intrusive) treatments been applied?
safety: will the punisher cause any harm?
problem severity: unless treated, will the person cause harm to themselves or others? is the behavior embarrassing or bizarre?
implementation guidelines: has the behavioral program been made explicit
training and supervision: if a non-behavior analyst carries out the treatment, who will train and supervise them?
peer review: have other experts evaluated the treatment program?
accountability: all of above considerations must be followed
do not violate a person's human rights
