Consequence
A consequence is a stimulus change that follows a behavior; depending on its effect, it can make that behavior more or less likely in the future.
Consequences are the "C" in the ABC model. They include things added after behavior (praise, a token, a snack, a reprimand) and things removed (a task taken away, a toy taken back, a loud noise turned off). In everyday language "consequence" often means a penalty, but in behavior analysis the word is neutral: it simply means what follows behavior.
A consequence is classified by its effect on future behavior. If the behavior occurs more often in the future, the consequence functioned as reinforcement. If the behavior occurs less often, it functioned as punishment. A consequence can also have no effect. Because the effect defines the function, the same consequence can reinforce behavior for one client and not for another; a reprimand meant to stop a behavior may in fact reinforce it if the client's behavior is maintained by attention.
For RBTs, consequences are central to almost every procedure: delivering reinforcers immediately and contingently, withholding reinforcement during extinction, and following the plan's response to problem behavior. When recording ABC data, the RBT writes down what actually happened right after the behavior, including adult reactions, without judging whether it was the right response.
Example and non-example
| Example | A client says "break please" and the RBT removes the task for 2 minutes. The removal of the task is the consequence of the request. |
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| Non-example | The RBT setting a worksheet on the table before the client says anything is an antecedent, not a consequence. |
Don't confuse it with
| Antecedent | A consequence follows behavior; an antecedent comes before it. |
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| Punishment | A consequence is any stimulus change after behavior; punishment is the specific case where the consequence makes the behavior less likely in the future. |
Test yourself
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Question 1Which ABC consequence entry describes what happened without interpreting it?
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A: The teacher said, "Stop that," and moved the chair. This reports what the teacher said and did. Words like "reinforced" or "punished" describe an effect on future behavior, which a single observation cannot show.
- B: Punishment is defined by a decrease in future behavior, which cannot be known from one event.
- C: Reinforcement is defined by an increase in future behavior, which cannot be known from one event.
- D: "Gave in" is an interpretation, not a description of what the teacher did.
Task A.5 · 40-hour curriculum section C
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Question 2In a group home, staff are talking with another resident. A teen shouts at the staff. A staff member walks over and talks with the teen for two minutes. In ABC terms, what is the consequence?
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C: Staff walking over and talking with the teen. The consequence is what happens immediately after the behavior. Here, staff came over and talked with the teen right after the shouting.
- A: Shouting is the behavior.
- B: Staff talking with another resident happened before the shouting, so it is the antecedent.
- D: A mood is not an observable event and did not follow the behavior.
Task B.3 · 40-hour curriculum section D
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Question 3In the consequence column of an ABC sheet, an RBT writes: "Mom gave in because she was tired." What is wrong with this entry?
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B: It includes a guess about Mom's reasons instead of only what Mom did. ABC entries should describe observable events. An objective entry would state what Mom did, such as "Mom handed the client the tablet," without guessing why.
- A: What Mom did after the behavior belongs in the consequence column.
- C: Length is not the problem; the guess about Mom's reasons is.
- D: Caregiver responses are important consequences to record.
Task B.3 · 40-hour curriculum section D · Task E.4
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On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task B.3 Functional assessment in content area B, Behavior Assessment, which is 8 of the 75 scored questions.