1. Punishment

2. Definitions?
Learning from the consequences that produce pain or discomfort
The loss of reinforcers: This has survival value for the individual and for the species.
Punishment teaches us not to repeat responses that cause us harm
Any stimulus or event, when used contingently, decreases the probability of a response.

3. Nature of Punishment Punishment is defined neither by
the actions of the person delivering the consequences
nor by the nature of those consequences.
A decrease in the future frequency of the occurrence of the behavior must be observed before a consequence qualifies as punishment.

4. Definitions of Punishment
Positive or Type I Punishment :
Presentation of a stimulus (or an increase in the intensity of an already present stimulus) immediately following a behavior
results in a decrease in the frequency of the behavior.
Spanking, electric shock, etc.
Negative or Type II Punishment:
termination of an already present stimulus (or a decrease in the intensity of an already present stimulus) immediately following a behavior
results in a decrease in the future frequency of the behavior.
Response cost, overcorrection

5. Discriminative Effects
Stimulus condition in the presence of which a response has a lower probability of occurrence than it does in its absence
Response-contingent punishment:
Delivery occurs in the presence of a stimulus cue
Punishment only occurs when emitting contingent response.
Stimulus control is important:
If punishment occurs only in some stimulus conditions and not in others: the suppressive effects of punishment will be most prevalent under those conditions
Organism learns the setting conditions as to when punishment will occur
E.g.: Teacher has to see you misbehave

6. Punishment is also Known as Aversive Control
Note that aversive events are associated with both:
positive punishment
negative reinforcement
Term aversive control is often used to describe intervention involving either or both of these two principles.

7. Aversive but not contingent?
Aversive stimuli can also affect operant behavior when given noncontingently
That is, a targeted behavior neither produces nor prevents the punisher
when aversive stimuli occur independently of responding.
Most famous example is conditioned emotional response (CER)

8. Conditioned Emotional Response (CER)
Basic set up:
Rat must lever press to obtain food.
Rat receives periodic pairings of tone with electric shock. (tone signals the shock)
Rat eventually press lever at a lower rate when tone is on than when it is off.
Phenomenon is called conditioned suppression or conditioned emotional response (CER; Estes & Skinner, 1941).

9. Why are CER’s important?
The “threat” of an upcoming aversive event can decrease responding
Even when noncontingent
Unpredictability produces GREAT CERs
Because the aversive event is likely, organism “prepares” or “gets ready” for the event
Can be cued or uncued
Really gets in the way of ongoing responses
E.g., in dog training: if dog is afraid of being punished
Rate of overall responding goes down
Animal is afraid of punisher, so doesn’t ‘risk’ behaving

10. Parameters of Punishment
Is all we learned about positive reinforcement true, in mirror-image form, of punishment?
Yes and no.
Are some additional characteristics of punishment
Any operant punishment situation is really a punishment plus reinforcement situation.
Just like any reinforcement situation =Sr + P
If get punished, don’t get the reinforcer.
If get the reinforcer, don’t get punished.

11. Punishment + Reinforcement?
For punishment to suppress operant responding, responses must already be occurring with some frequency.
For responses to occur, they must be producing reinforcement.
So, effect of punishment reflects interaction of two contingencies--reinforcement and punishment.
Jointly operate in most situations.

12. Punishment Effectiveness
Punishing only reinforced response is often not an effective procedure.
Suppresses responses
Doesn’t provide a “replacement” response
If you give organism an alternative, unpunished route to reinforcement, then effects of punishment are enhanced.
Always shape an incompatible response!
A response that is the opposite of the inappropriate response
E.g., punish getting out of seat but reinforce sitting in seat

13. Punishment Intensity:
As intensity of punishing stimulus increases, degree of suppression increases.
If very intense shock is used, then suppression may be virtually complete.
Partially due to physiological effects; partially due to contingency effects

14. Role of past experience!
Experience with the punisher is important
If never experienced shock, don’t know it hurts!
Punishment effects are relative: What has been prior experience and how is the punisher COMPARED to previous punishers?
Lots of research showing this:
Suppressive effect of intermediate shock intensity depends on animal’s past experience with shock.
If animal has experienced intensities going from mild to intermediate, then there will be little suppression.
If animal has experienced intensities going from severe to intermediate, then there will be substantial suppression.

15. Immediate is Best!
For punishment to be maximally effective, it must immediately follow operant response.
As delay interval between response and punishment increases, amount of suppression decreases.
Too many other behaviors can occur between R and P; contingency not as effective when initially using P

16. Probability of a punisher
Initially: should be certain and follow each operant response.
Probability of punishment should be 1.0
When responses are punished intermittently, effectiveness of punishment procedure is reduced.
Can shape towards partial schedule of punishment
Is this different than what observe with reinforcement? Think about it!

17. Recovery from Punishment: Extinction
When punishment is discontinued, suppressive effects on responding ARE not permanent
The rate of responding after punishment is discontinued will
not only recover
But briefly exceed level at which it was occurring prior to punishment
Opposite of extinction burst
Is this really surprising?

18. Unconditioned Punishers
Unconditioned punisher: stimulus whose presentation functions as punishment without having been paired with any other punishers.
Innate
Biologically relevant
Still, all organisms not respond the same!
Unconditioned punishers will suppress any behavior that precedes their onset.
Again, is this similar to reinforcement?

19. How are Conditioned Punishers different?
Conditioned punisher is a stimulus that functions as punishment as a result of a person’s conditioning history.
E.g., the word “no” is a conditioned stimulus
A child’s name can become a punisher!!!!
Acquires capability to function as punisher through stimulus-stimulus pairing with one or more unconditioned or conditioned punishers.

20. Extinction of Conditioned Punishers
If responses occur in absence of punisher, the response will return, potentially to pre-punishment levels
If the conditioned punisher is repeatedly presented without the punisher with which it was initially paired, effectiveness as punishment will diminish until it is no longer a punisher.

21. Generalization and Discrimination
Stimulus that has been paired with numerous forms of unconditioned and conditioned punishers becomes a generalized conditioned punisher.
Stimulus that has been paired with only one specific conditioned or unconditioned punisher becomes a discriminated punisher.

22. Other factors influencing effectiveness of punishment:
Schedule or frequency of punishment
Continuous punishment schedules knock down behavior more quickly
Partial punishment schedules keep behavior suppressed more effectively
Availability of reinforcement for the target behavior
Must eliminate inadvertent sources of reinforcement for your behavior targeted for punishment
Teacher may punish, but the other kids may keep reinforcing “class clown” behavior
Availability of reinforcement for an alternative behavior.
Punishment more effective if reinforce the opposite behavior
Again, must give organism alternative path to the reinforcer that was maintaining the unwanted behavior

23. Is time out a punisher? Yes, by definition it is a negative punisher
Losing the opportunity to get reinforcement from many other sources
Again, to be effective, must really isolate so can’t get reinforced.
Time out is not isolation
Time out is brief, focused and contingent
Isolation is of long duration, often noncontingent, and often not effective.

24. Rules for Using Time-Out
1 minute per year of age
Not really effective for children under 6-9 mos
For really little ones, VERY brief withdrawal of attention
Must be quiet to get the timer to start
Cannot use for dangerous, disruptive or self-stimulatory behavior
Must really be “time out” from other rewards

25. Negative Punishment
Response cost: your response costs you something or some behavior
OVERCORRECTION: two parts
Restitution: reinstatement of environment (clean up)
Positive practice: practice better response for situation
Can also use satiation/habituation

26. Guidelines for using positive punishment
Behavior must be (immediately) dangerous to person or others
Rate of responding is so high that there is NO chance to interrupt and reinforce “good” behavior
Must have tried other alternatives
An example:

27. Examples: Severe self injurious behavior (SIB)
Highly aggressive behavior to others
Behavior which creates in immediate danger for self or others
Running into the street
Pulling a hot pan off the stove