Punishment

"Punishment" is a term that also describes the relationship between a behavior and a consequence. In the case of punishment, the behavior will decrease. There are two types of punishment: positive and negative. In the case of positive punishment, something is added that serves to decrease the behavior. An example of positive punishment might be when I require a student to write “I will not cheat on my test” 30 times. I’ve added the work of writing, and the effect will be to decrease the behavior of cheating (hopefully). For negative punishment, I am taking something away that will serve to decrease the behavior. For example, I might take away recess for a student who refuses to do a task. I have taken something away, and the effect will be to decrease the behavior of refusing to do a task. Just as in the case of reinforcement, punishment can only be defined by the effect it has on the behavior. What you and I find punishing may again be different. We have to watch the behavior to see whether it increases or decreases.

The video below shows an example of punishment (remember that’s the technical use of the ABA term).