Exam 4 Behavioral Analysis

Chapter 6: Punishment Basics

• Two Main Procedural Variations of Punishment

  1. Positive Punishment
  • Adds an aversive stimulus after a behavior.
  • Example: A child touches a hot stove → feels pain → less likely to touch stove again.
  1. Negative Punishment
  • Removes a reinforcing stimulus after a behavior.
  • Example: A teen breaks curfew → parents take away car keys → less likely to break curfew.

• Three Basic Components of Punishment

  1. A behavior occurs.
  2. A consequence follows (either an aversive is added or a reinforcer is removed).
  3. The behavior decreases in future frequency.
  • Format: Behavior → Punishing consequence (added or removed) → Decrease in behavior

• Differences from Everyday/Legal Definitions

  • Behavioral definition is purely functional: punishment is a consequence that reduces a behavior.
  • Everyday use focuses on intent, morality, or legality (e.g., jail, shame, retribution).

• Common Misconceptions:

  • Punishment must be painful or physical.
  • Punishment automatically teaches new behavior (it doesn't).
  • People confuse punishment with negative reinforcement.

• Factors Influencing Effectiveness:

  1. Immediacy: Must follow the behavior closely in time.
  2. Contingency: Must occur every time the behavior occurs.
  3. Intensity: Stronger (but still ethical) punishers are often more effective.
  4. No reinforcement for the behavior: Reinforcement can overpower punishment.
  5. Reinforcement for alternative behavior: Makes punishment more ethical and effective.

• Potential Problems with Punishment (Side Effects):

  • Emotional reactions (fear, anxiety, aggression)
  • Escape and avoidance behavior
  • Modeling of punishment/aggression
  • Doesn’t teach appropriate replacement behavior
  • Ethical concerns (especially with severe punishment).

• Punishment as a Default Technology:

  • Used when other strategies fail or aren’t known.
  • Chosen out of lack of planning or desperation, rather than as a first-line, evidence-based approach.
  • Seen often in schools, homes, or organizations lacking behavior support training.

Chapter 17: Time-Out and Response Cost

• What Type of Punishment is Time-Out?

  • Negative Punishment – It removes access to reinforcement temporarily.

• Nonexclusionary vs Exclusionary Time-Out:

  1. Nonexclusionary: Individual stays in the setting but can't access reinforcement.
  • Example: Sitting in a “time-out chair” while others continue playing.
  1. Exclusionary: Individual is removed from the setting.
  • Example: Sent to a different room.

• Use Nonexclusionary When:

  • The individual can remain safely in the room.
  • The behavior isn’t disruptive to others.

• Use Exclusionary When:

  • Behavior is too disruptive/dangerous.
  • Need to fully remove access to all reinforcement.

• What Must Time-In/Out Environments Accomplish?

  • Time-in must be rich with reinforcement so time-out has a contrast.
  • Time-out must remove all reinforcement (no attention, toys, etc.).

• When Is Time-Out Inappropriate?

  • If the time-in environment is not reinforcing.
  • If behavior is maintained by escape (time-out reinforces it).
  • If it's overused or used without teaching replacement behaviors.

• Response Cost:

  • A form of negative punishment.
  • Example: Losing a token, losing access to a preferred item.

• Necessary for Response Cost to Work:

  1. Control over reinforcers.
  2. The individual must value what’s being removed.

• Using Reinforcement with Punishment:

  • DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior) + punishment: Reinforce when problem behavior does NOT occur, punish when it does.
  • Reinforcement of alternative behaviors (DRA) also improves outcomes and reduces reliance on punishment.

• Extinction vs Negative Punishment:

  • Extinction: Reinforcement is withheld for a previously reinforced behavior.
  • Negative Punishment: Reinforcer is removed following the behavior.
  • Key difference: Extinction is about stopping the reinforcer, not actively removing something.

Chapter 18: Aversive Activities

• How Are Aversive Activities Used?

  • They are effortful behaviors required contingent on problem behavior. Their aversiveness discourages the problem behavior.

• Examples of Aversive Activity Procedures:

  1. Positive Practice Overcorrection: Repeatedly practicing the correct behavior.
  2. Restitutional Overcorrection: Restoring the environment to better-than-before.
  3. Contingent Exercise: Doing physical activity not related to the behavior (e.g., push-ups).
  4. Guided Compliance: Physically guiding through tasks if noncompliant.
  5. Physical Restraint: Limiting movement to prevent harm.

• What Does "Aversive Stimulus is Functionally Defined" Mean?

  • A stimulus is aversive if it decreases the future rate of the behavior it follows – it’s defined by effect, not by what it is.

Chapter 21: Habit Behaviors and Habit Reversal

• What Are Habit Behaviors?

  • Repetitive, automatic behaviors not socially significant or dangerous (e.g., nail biting, tics, hair pulling).

• Three Elements of Simplified Habit Reversal:

  1. Awareness Training: Recognize when and where habit occurs.
  2. Competing Response Training: Use an incompatible behavior.
  3. Social Support: Others remind and praise use of competing responses.

• How Competing Responses Differ by Habit Type:

  • Motor tics: Use tension-incompatible behavior (e.g., isometric holds).
  • Nail biting: Sit on hands, clench fists.
  • Stuttering: Slowed speech, breathing control.

• Functions of Competing Responses:

  • Incompatible with habit behavior.
  • Provides alternative stimulation.
  • Can reduce tension or urge.

Chapter 23: Behavioral Contracts

• 5 Components of a Behavioral Contract:

  1. Target behavior
  2. Measurement of behavior
  3. Timeframe
  4. Reinforcement or punishment used
  5. Signatures of all parties

• Role of the Contract Manager:

  • One-party contract: Contract manager tracks and delivers consequences.
  • Two-party contract: Manager mediates fairness and compliance.

• Ways to Measure Target Behavior:

  • Frequency, duration, intensity, latency, or permanent product.
  • Measurement must be objective and observable.

• What Type of Antecedent Manipulation is a Contract?

  • A rule-governed behavior technique.
  • Serves as a motivational/commitment tool that sets clear expectations and consequences before behavior occurs.