Chapter 9: Punishment

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Chapter 9 Punishment!

• How does it work, and how can we use it
  effectively?

2
Punishment - review

• While reinforcers strengthen and support
  responses, punishment weakens them in one of two
  ways
• Applying an aversive or unpleasant stimulus
• OR
• Removing an appetitive or pleasant stimulus

3
Types of punishment

• Positive punishment is the type where you add an
  unpleasant stimlus as a consequence of a response
  (and the response is weakened)
• Negative punishment is the type where you remove
  a pleasant stimulus as a consequence of a
  response (and the response is weakened)

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Two Basic Types of Negative Punishment

• Time-out involves the loss of access to positive
  reinforcers for a brief period of time following
  the occurrence of a problem behavior.
• Response-cost is the removal of a specific
  reinforcer following the occurrence of a problem
  behavior

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Negative Reinforcement vs. Extinction

• To see the difference, ask yourself this
  question
• Does the behavior weaken because performing the
  behavior no longer leads to a reinforcer
• OR
• Does it weaken because performing the behavior
  leads to the removal of something you otherwise
  possess

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Intrinsic and Extrinsic Punishment

• Intrinsic punishment is punishment that is an
  inherent (naturally built-in) aspect of the
  behavior that is being punished
• Example You use a knife improperly and get a
  nasty cut or you smoke a cigarette and it makes
  you cough
• Extrinsic punishment is punishment that follows
  the behavior but is not a natural part of that
  behavior
• Example You say something your grandmother
  doesnt like and she grabs the cookie out of your
  hand or you smoke a cigarette and someone makes a
  negative comment

7
Primary vs. Secondary Punishers

• Primary punishers are those that we find
  naturally punishing (e.g. shocks, loud noises)
• Secondary punishers are those that are punishing
  because they have become associated with some
  other punisher (e.g. a mother counting to five
  may work because it has been associated with
  spankings)
• Some of these are generalized secondary punishers
  because they have been associated with so many
  other punishers (e.g. an icy stare from your
  spouse)

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Side effects of punishment

• Punishment does not teach the correct behavior
  it merely suppresses the incorrect (or even
  other, correct) behaviors
• The person doing the punishing may become a
  discriminitive stimulus for punishment
• Punishment elicits a strong emotional response

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MORE side effects of punishment

• Punishment can promote aggression
• The use of punishment can, through modeling,
  teach that it is the best way to control behavior
  (this is especially a problem with physical
  punishment and verbal abuse)
• The use of punishment is strongly reinforced, and
  so can become too frequently used

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Benefits of Punishment

• Although it should not be overused, in some cases
  punishment can have positive side effects
• It can sometimes lead to an increase in social
  behavior (especially after negative punishment
  like time out)
• It can sometimes lead to an unexpected
  improvement in mood
• It can lead to an increase in attention to the
  environment

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Effective use of punishment

• Immediate vs. delayed
• Consistently applied
• Negative Punishment instead of Positive
  Punishment when possible
• Sufficient (but not too much) intensity
• Explanation
• Combined with positive reinforcement!

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Best Strategy!

• MILD PUNISHMENT to temporarily suppress the
  misbehavior
• Conditioned Suppression Theory punishment
  doesnt really weaken the behavior, but it
  produces an emotional response that interferes
  with the occurrence of the behavior
• PLUS
• REINFORCEMENT to emphasize and strengthen the
  correct behavior

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Effects of Non-Contingent Punishment

• What happens when the learner has no control over
  when punishment is given?
• Learned Helplessness a breakdown in learning
  ability caused by repeated exposure to
  uncontrollable aversive events
• Example Effects of child abuse
• Massermans Experimental Neurosis an
  experimentally produced disorder in which animals
  exposed to unpredictable events develop
  neurotic-like symptoms
• Example Post Traumatic Stress Disorder