The Behavioral Definition of Punishment

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This paper will provide the behavioral definition of punishment and give examples of both positive and negative punishment in different types of settings. The guidelines for the effective use of punishment, as well as legal and ethical issues that should be considered by the Behavior Analyst while designing a behavior intervention plan are identified.
The term punishment as used in operant conditioning refers to any change that occurs after a behavior happens that reduces the likelihood that the behavior will follow again in the future. Punishment occurs when a response is followed immediately by a stimulus change that decreases the future frequency of similar responses. Behaviorist B.F. Skinner was the first psychologist to identify two different kinds of aversive stimuli that can be used as punishment (Cooper, 2007). Positive punishment occurs when the 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. Negative punishment involves the termination of an already present stimulus or a decrease in the intensity of an already present stimulus immediately following a behavior that results in a decrease in the future frequency of the behavior (Cooper, 2007).
Punishment can be used to yield rapid, long lasting suppression of problem behavior. Punishment may be a choice of treatment when a problem behavior causes serious harm and must be addressed quickly, reinforcement-based treatment have not reduced the target behavior or the reinforcers maintaining the behavior cannot be identified or withheld (Cooper, 2007). Once one has selected punishment as a means of intervention, one must select an effectiv...

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Owen, D.J., Slep, A.S., & Heyman, R.E. (2012). The Effect of Praise, Positive Nonverbal Response, Reprimand, and Negative Nonverbal Response on Child Compliance: A Systematic Review. Clinical Child And Family Psychology Review, 15(4), 364-385.
Skinner, B.F. (1974). About Behaviorism. New York: Knopf.

Swain-Bradway, J.R. (2013). Voices from the Field: Stakeholder Perspectives on PBIS Implementation in Alternative Educational Settings. Educational & Treatment of Children (West Virginia University Press), 36(3),31.
Ward, BryceGersten, Russell. 2013. "A Randomized Evaluation of the Safe and Civil Schools Model for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports at Elementary Schools in a Large Urban School District. School Psychology Review 42, no. 3:317-333. Professional Development Collection, EBSCOhost(assessed February 8, 2014).

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