1. How is extinction different from negative punishment?
2. What are the differences between nonexclusionary, exclusionary, and isolation time-out?
3. Explain some issues with time-out.
4. Explain some issues with response cost.
5. What kinds of aversive activities can be applied as positive punishment?
6. What kinds of aversive stimuli can be applied as positive punishment?
7. Explain some issues with positive punishment.
8. What are the ethical issues in applying punishment?
Extinction vs. negative punishment:
- in (operant) extinction, the reinforcer that was supporting the behaviour is no longer given
- in negative punishment, a reinforcer is removed or _________ cotingent on the behaviour
• ____-___: person is removed from access to reinforcers
• ________ ____: a reinforcer is taken away from the person
Procedure |
Process |
Results |
Extinction |
Stop giving the reinforcer maintaining the behaviour |
Response weakens or decreases gradually |
Time-Out |
Contingent removal of access to reinforcers |
Response weakens or decreases rapidly |
Response Cost |
Contingent loss of a reinforcer currently possessed |
Response weakens or decreases rapidly |
e.g., child throws a tantrum, which draws his parents’ attention (social reinforcer)
• extinction: parents now ______ the tantrum every time it occurs
• negative punishment: child has to sit on his “_______ ____” after having a tantrum (time-out), or loses a star from his “good behaviour” chart (response cost)
How can ____-___ decrease problem behaviours?
(Foxx & Shapiro, 1978)
- five boys with intellectual disabilities in a special-education class, aged 8 to 18
- problem behaviours included hitting, yelling, throwing and banging objects during group lessons
- behavioural treatment program: A-B-C-B-C design
• baseline: disruptive behaviours recorded
• reinforcement/____-__:
▸ each student wore a multicoloured ribbon around his neck as a tie
▸ tangible (food) and social (attention) reinforcers delivered for working about every 2 minutes
• ____-___:
▸ ribbon was removed and student would not receive reinforcers for 3 minutes
▸ they also could not participate in group activities and forfeited their usual computer- or free-play time
- results: problem behaviours decreased overall from 42% of time in baseline to 6%
- definition (time-out from ________ _____________): loss of access to positive reinforcers following an undesirable behaviour
• _______________ time-out: after an undesirable behaviour, person remains in the same room or location as the time-in, but is denied access to reinforcers
e.g., after disruptive behaviour, a student has to put her head down and is not allowed to participate in class
- contingent observation: person is denied access to reinforcers, and must observe others engaging in activities
• ____________ time-out: following an undesirable behaviour, person is
- moved to a different part of the room or location and is denied access to reinforcers,
- or is moved to a different room
(Note: textbook erroneously calls the former case “nonexclusionary”.)
- person is not allowed to participate in or watch the activity; may not even be allowed to _____ others
e.g., having to sit in the corner or on a naughty spot after misbehaving
- _________ time-out: person is removed from the environment in which the reinforcers are available, to a separate setting in which they are alone
e.g., breaking the rules in prison results in solitary confinement (also called “disciplinary segregation”)
(Note: textbook conflates exclusionary and isolation time-outs.)
Time-out _____ (isolation time-out):
- also called “quiet rooms,” “cool-down rooms,” “calming rooms,” or “seclusion rooms”
- intended to help person calm down
- can maintain safety by preventing person from causing physical harm to himself/herself, peers, or adults, or causing damage to property
- have often been _______ and mismanaged in schools in some jurisdictions
- have been the subject of several ________
- seclusion rooms are allowed in Alberta schools under new guidelines effective November 1, 2019
• seclusion may be used as a last resort if the behaviour “poses significant imminent danger of serious physical harm to themselves or others” (pp.10-11) but it cannot be used “as __________” (p.12) (Alberta Ministry of Education, 2019)
• cannot be used if person is engaging in severe SIBs, causing property damage, or if seclusion presents a danger to the person
• rooms must be adequately lit, ventilated, and heated
• guidelines call for ___ to be done
Basic guidelines for time-out rooms (Gast & Nelson, 1977):
• should be at least 6 feet × 6 feet (1.8 m × 1.8 m)
• properly _______
• properly ventilated
• free of objects or fixtures that could be ______l
• allow audio/visual monitoring of person by supervisor/teacher
• not ______
• time-out decreases undesirable behaviours, but _________ behaviours should also be encouraged
• consider the reinforcer:
- time-out does not work with negative reinforcement (e.g., escape) or automatic reinforcement (e.g., self-stimulation, like hair-pulling)
- ensure time-in provides reinforcers
• practical concerns:
- is there enough space to put a person in an exclusionary time-out, or a separate room for isolation time-out?
- can person be physically moved there?
• ensure person’s ______ during the time-out--no opportunities for SIBs
• consider duration of the time-out period: use shortest duration that is effective
- in __________ _____ (or release contingency), time-out does not end if behaviour has not ceased during the time-out period; this prevents escape from time-out as serving as negative reinforcement
• prevent ______ from time-out
e.g., children may not stay sitting on the naughty spot without a struggle or physical restraint
- if escape cannot be prevented, time-out should not be used
• ensure time-out does not inadvertently evoke reinforcement
e.g., child in time-out gets up from naughty spot or screams for (social) attention
• determine whether time-out is acceptable for use with __________ populations (e.g., children, or people with an intellectual disability) or at a given institution (e.g., school)
• prisoners subjected to long-term solitary confinement are more likely to land back in prison; it also causes increased incidence of depression and a greater risk of premature death
How can response cost be used to reduce calls to _________ assistance?
(McSweeny, 1978)
- in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the early 1970s, free local directory assistance calls increased from about 64,000 to about 87,000 per business day
- in mid-1973, a ______ was announced: calls decreased to 55,000
- in March, 1974, charges were implemented: 3 free calls per month; subsequent calls cost 20¢ each
- results:
• calls dropped to 17,000/day
• _________ increased to 24,000 over the next two years
- definition: removal of a reinforcer following an undesirable behaviour
- can be implemented with ______ or other conditioned reinforcers or privileges
- severity of the punishment does not necessarily produce a greater effect; even modest punishment may be effective
- may be more effective than DRO over the long run
- examples of response cost:
• paying a ____ for parking illegally
• eliminating food stealing/scavenging and ingesting nonfood items (Smith et al., 1983)
• increased completion of math problems, by reducing ___-____ behaviour (Iwata & Bailey, 1974)
• consider the __________: what will be withdrawn, how much, and for how long
• when to withdraw the reinforcer: immediately, or after a delay
- for people with intellectual impairment, remove reinforcer immediately
- if using a _____, inform people immediately
• practical issues: if reinforcer cannot be __________ taken away, use tokens or points system instead
• person may avoid the situation or become __________ (ensure contingencies are explained in advance)
• determine whether response cost is acceptable for use with vulnerable populations or at a given institution
- includes applying aversive __________ or applying aversive stimuli
- involves low-probability behaviour that the person does not enjoy doing
- acts as a punisher if it follows a behaviour and decreases it
How can ________ be used to decrease aggressive behaviour?
(Luce et al., 1980)
- Ben, a 7-year-old boy in a school program for severely emotionally disturbed children; was diagnosed as having developmental delay
- other problem behaviours (tantrums, atypical language) reduced using DRO and DRI
- problem behaviour: _______, up to 30 times per day
- behavioural treatment program:
• after hitting, Ben had to stand up and sit down 10 times
• physical prompting was given as necessary
• _______ for procedures were approved by Ben’s parents, and ethical review board of the school
- results:
• _______ dropped to almost zero
• long-term follow-up showed complete ___________ of hitting
• Ben was subsequently able to run and interact with other children and did not display aggressiveness
Kinds of aversive activities:
• ______________: person has to perform effortful, low-probability behaviours contingent on the problem behaviour
- ________ ________: after a problem behaviour, person must correctly perform an opposite or appropriate behaviour repeatedly
e.g., after rushing and getting many math problems wrong, a student has to do them over again more slowly
- negative practice: after a problem behaviour, person must perform the undesirable behaviour repeatedly
e.g., after tapping her pencil during class, a student must spend recess tapping her pencil while saying, “This is what I am not supposed to do”
- ___________: after a problem behaviour, person must correct the effects of the problem behaviour and restore the environment--usually to a condition better than they were initially
e.g., after getting clothes muddy, a child has to wash and iron them and put them away neatly
• contingent ________: after a problem behaviour, a person must perform exercise, usually not related to the problem behaviour
e.g., drill sergeant makes a recruit do 20 pushups after failing to perform adequately
• ______ __________: after a problem behaviour, a person is physically guided to complete a requested behaviour
- like a physical guidance prompt
- for many people, guided compliance is aversive
• physical _________: after a problem behaviour, the part of the person’s body that performed the behaviour is immobilized
- response ________: behaviour analyst physically prevents the person from carrying out or completing the problem behaviour
e.g., stopping a child from putting her thumb in her mouth, to prevent thumb-sucking
- response ____________/redirection (RIR)
• combines response blocking and differential reinforcement
• after response is blocked, person is prompted to engage in a competing response using a least-to-most prompting hierarchy
e.g., student engages in hand-mouthing; teacher blocks; teacher prompts student to request edible reinforcer
• used as treatment for _____________ reinforced behaviours
- involves presenting stimuli that are aversive or __________ to a person
- acts as a punisher if it follows a behaviour and decreases it
How can ________ ______ be used to stop self-injurious behaviour?
(Linscheid et al., 1990)
- Donna, a 17-year-old with profound intellectual disability
- no language, self-feeding, or independent toileting skills
- SIB: head hitting for the past 10 years that produced numerous _______ on her face and head
- many previous treatments were ineffective
- behavioural treatment program:
• baseline: recorded responses per minute (session stopped if she hit her head 25 times)
• SIBIS (self-injurious behaviour inhibiting system):
- headband holds ______ detector
- stimulus module worn on arm or leg
- module sounds a tone and delivers 3.5 mA __________ _____ (tone becomes conditioned punisher)
• consent for treatment was given by the parents and ethical review board
- results:
• SIBIS quickly reduced SIB to zero levels
Kinds of aversive stimulation:
• __________: harsh verbal criticism of behaviour
e.g., saying “No!” to a child after an undesirable behaviour
- more effective when paired with eye contact, physical grasp of the shoulders, and close proximity to the person
• __________ ________ stimuli: cause physical pain, discomfort, or unpleasant sensations
- examples:
• ice cube held against jaw to decrease bruxism (teeth grinding)
• _______ held under nose to reduce SIBs
• loud noise to stop finger sucking
• SIBIS
• use __________ interventions first:
1. antecedent interventions/positive reinforcement/differential reinforcement
2. negative reinforcement
3. extinction
4. negative __________
5. positive punishment: aversive stimuli should be used only as a last resort
• apply differential reinforcement with punishment
e.g., use DRO, DRA, or DRI
- punishment indicates what not to do, but does not teach _________ behaviour
- combining punishment with differential reinforcement is more effective than using punishment alone
- adverse side-effects of punishment are less likely when differential reinforcement is also used
• conduct a __________ __________ to determine the function of the problem behaviour
e.g., if social attention is a reinforcer, then use time-out (not positive punishment)
e.g., if behaviour is maintained by potent reinforcers that cannot be controlled by the therapist, then use punishment
• select the most _________ punisher
e.g., structured tests can be used to assess a variety of potential punishers
• use evidence-based approach in making treatment decisions
- if punisher does not have an immediate effect on the target behaviour, reconsider the treatment program
• consider _______ implications of the use of punishment
• informed consent: Does the person (or parent/legal guardian) agree to the treatment program?
• alternative treatments: Have other (less intrusive) treatments been applied?
• safety: Will the punisher cause any harm?
• problem severity: Unless treated, will the person cause harm to themselves or others? Is the behaviour embarrassing or bizarre?
• implementation guidelines: Has the behavioural program been made explicit?
• training and supervision: If a non-behaviour analyst carries out the treatment, who will train and supervise them?
• peer review: Have other experts evaluated the treatment program?
• accountability: all of the above considerations must be followed
• Association for Behavior Analysis International strongly opposes the inappropriate and/or unnecessary use of seclusion, restraint, or other intrusive interventions (ABAI, 2010)
Final ethical consideration: Do not violate a person’s human rights
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948)
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982), Canadian Human Rights Act (1977)
• Alberta Human Rights Act (2018)