What is punishment?
Punishment is a stimulus change, which follows a behavior and decreases the future occurrence of that behavior (Cooper et al., 2007). Similar to reinforcement, not all stimulus changes that occur after a behavior one desires to decrease is considered punishment. When the stimulus, contingent on the behavior, decreases that behavior, it is a punisher. At Shepherds College, we use the term consequences to decrease behavior when discussing and implementing punishment procedures to help us remember their purpose and to avoid the negative connotations our students may associate with punishment. Many times, this word evokes a level of fear or concern, however in order to effectively understand consequences one must understand punishment (Mayer et al., 2014).
A reminder of positive and negative in relation to consequences:
Positive is the addition of stimuli after the behavior occurs. Negative is the removal of stimuli after the behavior occurs.
Putting it all together with examples observed at Shepherds College:
The following chart demonstrates the relationship between positive and negative on reinforcement (discussed in the previous article) and punishment.
Positive Punishment is the addition of stimuli, after a behavior occurs, to decrease future occurrences of that behavior.
Negative Reinforcement is the removal of stimuli after a behavior occurs to decrease future occurrences of that behavior.
Important Ethical Considerations When Utilizing Consequence Procedures:
- Social Significance – When attempting to change a behavior it is important to consider the social significance or the value of the behavior for the individual. It is only appropriate to change behavior that increases the individual’s quality of life in a meaningful and sustainable way (Cooper et al., 2007). It is not appropriate to change someone’s behavior because it makes our lives easier.
- Least Restrictive – When attempting to change a behavior it is important to utilize the least restrictive yet most effective procedure available. In general, reinforcement procedures are considered less restrictive than punishment procedures and should therefore be applied and ruled ineffective before utilizing punishment procedures (Cooper et al., 2007).
- Student Specific – When attempting to change behavior, it is important to remember consequences are student specific and to keep the individual as the focus of the plan. While it would be nice for all consequences to have the same effect on student’s behavior, they don’t. Students are unique individuals with different learning histories, likes, and dislikes. All of these factors and the current environment impact the effect a stimulus will have on a behavior.
If you would like to more information on the Consequence Strategies Training Series at Shepherds College, please click on "Consequences" in the Category panel on the right.
References:
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Mayer, G. R., Sulzer-Azaroff, B., & Wallace, M. (2014). Behavior analysis for lasting change (3rd ed.). Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY: Sloan Publishing, LLC.
Lauren Miles |