In this podcast we will be discussing punishment. Certainly “reinforcement” is essential for learning in our day to day lives, BUT our survival and well being also depend on our learning to NOT do things that have in the past been threatening.
As we now know, behaviour is a function of its consequences. Reinforcement strengthens the behaviour it follows.
Scientifically, Punishment is the procedure of providing consequences that Reduce the strength and /or frequency of the behaviour it follows.
To be effective, punishment should be contingent on the target behaviour..and the interval between the behaviour and the punishing consequence should be short. Science also has shown the intensity of the punishing stimulus is directly proportional to the reduction in the target behaviour.
Punishment podcast
In this Podcast we provide a brief overview of the scientific definition of punishment, but also the potential problems when using it to modify behaviour.
Ryan and Dr Kat also discuss alternatives to using punishment, involving functional non aversive procedures (antecedent manipulation, extinction, differential reinforcement) to shape desirable behaviour.
The science of behaviour can show us that punishment works and can be used effectively, and also that sometimes punishment can alleviate suffering of the individual involved. Ethically however, good trainers should question its regular use – particularly when it comes to using positive punishment , and keep in mind the significant negative fallout when positive punishment is used or misused.
Knowing that there are positive and efficient alternative procedures…we as trainers/ teachers of other beings should always aim to employ them first to influence behaviour. Our aim should be to enhance and strengthen our relationships with all our learners. How animals feel…matters.
Author of written content: Dr Kat Gregory.
In this podcast episode Ryan read from a article from Dr Susan Friedman.It’s highly recommended that you check this article and all of Dr Friedman’s work. The article is called “What’s wrong with this picture? Effectiveness is not enough” To access the article click on the article title.
This was great. It gave me a deeper understanding of what and why my bird does what he does.
I have been struggling with him screaming for attention, and I tried the extraction technique (forgive me if I get the terms wrong), where I would leave the area when he started screaming or cover his cage. I was seeing no change in his behaviour, so I thought I would try the extinction (I think), where I ignored the screams, but after a while the severity increased. Now I understand why. I haven’t fixed the problem yet, but now I have a better understanding as to what is happening.
Many thanks for the great insight.
As you requested during this podcast, I’m submitting a question for further podcast discussion: As to the process of eliminating a problem behavior, you suggest managing the environment, identifying then eliminating the current reinforcers for the problem behavior, and teaching the animal alternate, desirable behaviors, for which it receives positive reinforcement. My question concerns the second component of this process: Do you have specific methods for identifying what is currently reinforcing the problem behavior, and how to know that you’ve identified them correctly? Can you also please give some examples from situations you’ve encountered? Thank you taking the time to consider and answer this!
Hey Jessica,
Thank you so much for your comment.
Reinforcement is something that immediately follows a behavior.
So we need to observe what’s happening immediately after behavior.
If the reinforcement is removed over time you would make a prediction that the behavior that preceded it would therefore decrease in frequency.
(NOTE: if a behavior is put on extinction then you might see an initial increase in intensity/frequency which then would decrease).
If you think you know what the reinforcer is and it’s removed but behavior is maintained or increases over time then the behavior is still being reinforced by something, so we need to re-evaluate. Does that make sense?
Here is a link to the latest webinar recording.
The first example with Security the Goose is a good one.
https://www.animaltrainingacademy.com/webinars/
Let me know if that helps, and/or if you have any more questions.
Best Regards
Ryan C
Hi Ryan and Kat, very nice discussion on punishment. You showed how complex it’s use is while validating that it can be an acceptable tool if used properly. The difficult part is making sure for the animals sake we are using it properly. Reinforcing some of your points I would say punishment should be ethical, rare, and well thought out. It is not a practice to rely on solely to change behavior. Telling an animal or a person what is wrong is only half the information. They need to also know what is correct. One of the biggest downfalls of positive punishment is that you may need to increase the intensity over time. For example you may need to yell louder or hit harder to get the desired response. I am a fan of time-outs when used properly. For me that means don’t over use them and vary the length of time. Ideally you also want to be able to observe your animals behavior during the time out. You learn a lot by watching! One big benefit of a time out to me is that it provides “thinking time” for the animal and trainer. The animal can think about what it was doing and the communication is very clear from the trainer. During the time out the trainer can think about their options for when they return and hopefully make a good choice on how to help the animal succeed. We should properly use punishers to help the animal succeed not for the goal of punishing. Thanks for the great podcast 🙂