TOPIC 5 - Operant Conditioning: Punishment

Question 1

Occurrence of a behaviour that is followed by an IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCE that results in the WEAKENING of the behaviour

Question 2

form of operant conditioning that DECREASES behaviour and makes it less likely to happen in the future

Answer 2

Punishment

Question 3

Adding something aversive after a behaviour occurs -> decrease likelihood of behaviour happening under the same conditions in the future

Answer 3

positive punishment

Question 4

REMOVING something appetitive after a behaviour occurs to decrease the likelihood of that behaviour happening under the same conditions in the future

Answer 4

Negative punishment

Question 5

the process/procedure of providing consequences for a behaviour that decreases the probability of that behaviour in the future

Answer 5

punishment

Question 6

any event of stimulus that follows an operant response that DECREASES its future probability

Answer 6

punisher

Question 7

Any event or STIMULUS that when PRESENTED AS A CONSEQUENCE of a behaviour, decreases the future probability of that behaviour

Answer 7

Positive PUNISHER

Question 8

Any event or STIMULUS that when REMOVED AS A CONSEQUENCE of a behaviour, decreases the future probability of that behaviour

Answer 8

Negative punisher

Question 9

_______ are defined by their effect on behaviour. If it doesn’t decrease the behaviour, it’s not a _______.

Answer 9

PUNISHER

Question 10

When using punishment, we need to account for _______ and ______ tendencies, since punishers are things we will try to ______ or avoid given the opportunity

Answer 10

escape
avoidance

Question 11

Low probability behaviour PUNISHES high probability behaviour

Answer 11

premack principle for punishment

Question 12

Degree of correlation between a behaviour and its consequence - eg: punisher always follows, only occurs after behaviour

Answer 12

contingency

Question 13

If a behaviour and a punisher have a predictive association, that indicates strong learning or a ________ contingency

Answer 13

high contingency

Question 14

If theres a weak association between a behaviour and punisher, that indicates weak/slow learning or a ______ contingency.

Answer 14

low contingency

Question 15

5 variables affecting punishment (influence effectiveness of punishment)

Answer 15

1. Contingency
2. Contiguity
3. Intensity
4. Reinforcement
5. Motivating operations

CCIRM

Question 16

Nearness of events in time (temporal) or space (spatial)

Answer 16

contiguity

time - temporal contiguity
space - spatial contiguity

Question 17

longer delay or larger distance between behaviour and punisher = ______ (slower/faster) learning

Answer 17

slower learning

Question 18

Magnitude or severity of a punisher

Answer 18

intensity

• more intense punisher -> stronger learning
• must be INTENSE enough to reduce behaviour dramatically

Question 19

risks of not using intense punishers:

Answer 19

behaviour doesn’t get suppressed, more punishment with higher intensity needed

Question 20

• if a reinforcer for a behaviour is more intense than the intensity of the punisher, it may influence the effectiveness of the punisher
• try to use punishment as a last resort - use reinforcements first for good behaviour -> behaviour decreases more rapidly with good reinforcer than punisher

Question 21

2 types of motivating operations

Answer 21

1. Establishing operations - set the scene
2. Abolishing operations - satiation

Question 22

Establishing operations set the scene for making a punisher ______ effective.

Answer 22

Establishing operations set the scene for making a punisher more effective.

Question 23

Abolishing operations can make a punisher ______ effective through satiation.

Answer 23

Abolishing operations can make a punisher less effective through satiation.

Question 24

Punishment, escape, and avoidance, are all examples of ________ (2).

Answer 24

aversive contingencies

Question 25

Overcorrection Contingent exercise Guided compliance Physical restraint These are all examples of ________ (2) practices.

Answer 25

positive punishment

Question 26

type of ______ punishment in which the individual has to engage in effortful behaviour related to the problem behaviour:

Answer 26

positive punishment overcorrection

Question 27

2 types of Overcorrection:

Answer 27

1. Positive practice - doing the correct form of a behaviour for a period of time 2. Restitution - must fix the environment disrupted by the problem behaviour

Question 28

Similar to Overcorrection, __________ (2) is contingent on the problem behaviour, and calls for the individual engaging in some effortful behaviour for a specified period of time, BUT the effortful behaviour is UNRELATED to the problem behaviour.

Answer 28

Contingent Exercise

Question 29

When problem behaviour tends to occur after the request -> physically guide the individual in the steps to comply with the request

Answer 29

guided compliance

Question 30

Guided compliance _______ punishes non-compliance, while ______ reinforcing compliance. Positive reinforcement of compliance is easily incorporated.

Answer 30

positively punishes adding compliance steps as punishment negatively reinforces removing guiding of steps -> person does the steps themselves

Question 31

Body part involved in the behaviour is held immobile for a specified period of time

Answer 31

Physical restraint

Question 32

physically stopping a behaviour from being completed to prevent problems generated by the behaviour, and to prevent the behaviour from being reinforced

Answer 32

response blocking

Question 33

Time out Response Cost These are examples of _______ punishment.

Answer 33

negative punishment

Question 34

taking time AWAY from positive reinforcement time -> indicate that behaviour results in a loss of access to a. Positive reinforcer that is maintaining that behaviour

Answer 34

time out

Question 35

2 types of time outs:

Answer 35

exclusionary - COMPLETELY removed from the location no exclusionary - prevented from participating, but still in the location

Question 36

Removing a specific amount of a reinforcer for every time the problem behaviour occurs - eg: swear jar

Answer 36

response cost

Question 37

Positive punishment, negative reinforcement, and negative punishment would all be examples of applications of ___________ (2) like punishment, escape, and avoidance

Answer 37

aversive contingencies

Question 38

Escape learning, avoidance learning, and learned helplessness would all be examples of __________

Answer 38

negative reinforcement

Question 39

When an operant changes the environment from a situaiton where a negative reinforcer (aversive stimulus) is present to one where it was absent -> compatibility with reflexive unconditioned responses affects how quickly a response occurs -> when operant is similar to the reflexive (UR) behaviour elicited by the aversive stimulus, they’re learning not to do that anymore

Answer 39

escape learning

Question 40

When an operant PREVENTS the OCCURANCE of an aversive stimulus. - need to have a reliable stimulus in the environment (antecedent) that WARNS the upcoming delivery of the aversive stimulus,

Answer 40

avoidance learning

Question 41

when a seemingly inescapable situation is always encountered, individuals learning it cannot be stopped or escaped and stop trying -> false belief they’re unable to alter the situation -> model for depression and anxiety

Answer 41

Learned helplessness

Question 42

Creating a situation in which failure of avoidance is not possible is used to treat __________. On the other hand, pre-exposure to escape and avoidance contingencies can block it.

Answer 42

learned helplessness

Question 43

Critiques of punishment: - punishment can be reinforcing - people may try to avoid and escape punishment through/avoidance/escape behaviours like lying, hiding, aggression, and learning when its safe to engage in the behaviour (when it won’t be punished; eg: parents not around)

Question 44

Punishment doesn’t teach acceptable behaviours, it only _______ behaviours. Acceptable behaviours still need to be _______.

Answer 44

punishment decreases behaviours acceptable behaviours still need to be reinforced