Aversive Control of Behavior:

Punishment & Avoidance

Lesson 16

Life: The School of Hard Knocks Learning with aversive stimuli

pain sickness

Positive Punishment B aversive outcome

Negative RFT escape & avoidance

Classical conditioning pair neutral stimulus w/ shock ~

B aversive SR

What type of punishment? Positive punishment

Difficult to do human, ethics but some human evidence Mostly animal research ~

Factors that influence efficacy

Punishment is associative process Trials effect

punished B aversive SR

greater suppression Intensity (magnitude)

greater intensity greater efficacy Delay of punishment

longer delay less effective ~

Factors that influence efficacy

History of punishment start w/ weak ineffective punishment more intense punishment less effective Habituation occurs

Alternate routes of reinforcement Provide alternate responses to gain reward

after punishment increases effectiveness ~

Human Case Study

NOT an experiment 9 month old boy w/ chronic vomiting

near death before treatment Recorded precise muscle activity

identified muscle activity that preceded vomiting ~

Procedure

Vomiting muscle activity observed Punished w/ shock

produced startle response but not crying

Results Vomiting eliminated after 5 trials

over 3 days BUT… ~

Potential Side Effects

Unintended & undesirable Response generalization

other responses to aversive stimuli anger/fear/aggression avoidance

Global effects can be worse than behavior punished ~

Monkey Study

Learn to push button to get food opens a door

Put toy snake in food dish quit pushing button after a few trials

Side effects lost interest in eating lost social status

lower in hierarchy ~

Painful Stimuli & Aggression

College women 1 teaches another words

1 group of teachers hand in warm water Other while hand in ice water

Results Ice water group verbally aggressive ~

Alternatives to Positive Punishment

Time-out Remove opportunities for RFT

Response cost Fines, loss of privileges

Differential RFT of … Other Behaviors (DRO) Incompatible Behaviors (DRI) ~

Escape & Avoidance:Negative Reinforcement

Escape / Avoidance

Shuttle Box 2 compartments Can jump over

barrier Electrified grid Speaker/light

emits signal ~

Shuttlebox

speaker

Tone on

Shuttlebox

speaker

Shock on

Shuttlebox

speaker

Jumps barrier

Shuttlebox

speaker

What is outcome?

Shuttlebox

Jumping over barrier terminates shock More trials responds more quickly learns to avoid shock ~

Shuttlebox

speaker

Tone on

Shuttlebox

speaker

Jumps barrier before shock on

Shuttlebox

speaker

What is outcome?

Shuttlebox Results

Early trials: escapes shock After may trials: avoidance

Shift from escape avoidance Why? ~

Mowerer’s 2 Process Theory (1947)

2 processes involved in escape/avoidance Operant & Classical Conditioning

Early trials escape (operant)

shock (SD) jumping (B) escape (SR) Later trials avoidance (CC involved)

Tone (CS) evokes fear (CER) B reduces fear drive strengthens response ~

So...

Avoidance = escape from fear fear is classically conditioned Tone = SD & CS

Avoidance no shock? Does extinction occur?

2 process view suggest cyclical performance ~

Observed performance

Hi

Lo

# of trials

avoidance continues

Avoidance

Escape

But extinction does NOT occur ~

Avoidance & Extinction

Avoidance behavior Persists Resistant to extinction

Explanation? failure to avoid is punished Cognitive Theory

(Annau & Kamin, 1961) Conservation of Anxiety Theory

(Solomon & Wynne, 1954) ~

Expectancy Theory Cognitive theory Early trials consistent w/ 2 process

tone Fear avoidance More experience expectancy

expectancy = no shock Avoidance (B) satisfying outcome

Avoidance response strengthened Difficult to extinguish ~

Conservation of Anxiety Theory

Fear of CS doesn’t fully extinguish Immediate avoidance short latency

Delayed avoidance Exposed CS longer No extinction for later portion CS Strengthens fear of early CS

Behavior Therapy Exposure to sequential CSs Exposure therapy - fear hierarchy ~