Punishment and Behavior Control in Psychology

Flashcards on the concepts of punishment and behavior control in psychology, covering definitions, types of punishment, and related processes.

Punishment

A stimulus that follows a response and decreases the probability of similar responses under similar circumstances.

Positive Punishment

A punishment procedure in which a behavior is followed by the presentation of or an increase in the intensity of a stimulus.

Negative Punishment

A form of punishment in which a behavior is followed by the removal of or a decrease in the intensity of a stimulus.

Unconditioned Punisher

Punishers that do not depend on pairing with other punishers, such as pain or intense noise.

Conditioned Punisher

Punishers that depend on pairing with primary punishers, such as saying 'No' or social disapproval.

Contingency

The relationship between responses and punishers; greater contingency leads to quicker and stronger decreases in response probability.

Contiguity

The time delay between a response and a punisher; shorter delays increase punishment effectiveness.

Motivating Operations

Factors that influence how effective a punisher will be, such as the current motivation of the individual.

Generalization

The tendency for the effects of learning experience to spread to different situations.

Discrimination

The ability of a learner to behave differently in response to a specific stimulus based on distinguishing it from other stimuli.

Stimulus Control

When behavior is brought under the control of discriminative stimulus through discrimination training.

Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates (DRL)

A form of differential reinforcement where reinforcement is provided only when a behavior occurs at a specified low rate.

Response Prevention

The procedure of altering the environment to prevent unwanted behavior from occurring.

Extinction

Withholding reinforcement for a given behavior to reduce its frequency.