Punishment side effects
Unwanted effects that can accompany punishment, including emotional and aggressive reactions, escape and avoidance, behavioral contrast, imitation of punishment, and overuse by the person delivering it.
Punishment can reduce a target behavior, but it often brings other effects. Emotional and aggressive reactions include crying, tantrums and aggression toward the person delivering punishment or others. Escape and avoidance means the client learns to get away from or avoid the punisher, the person delivering it or the setting. Behavioral contrast means the behavior may decrease where it is punished but increase in settings where it is not. Undesirable modeling means the client may imitate punishing behavior with others, such as a child who is reprimanded starting to reprimand peers harshly. Negative reinforcement of the punisher's behavior means that because punishment can stop problem behavior quickly, the adult may be reinforced for using it and may overuse it.
Punishment also does not teach a replacement behavior, so the original need behind the problem behavior is still unmet.
Because of these risks, supervisors prefer reinforcement-based and antecedent procedures and use punishment, if at all, as part of a written plan that includes reinforcement for appropriate behavior and close monitoring. Under the RBT Ethics Code (2.0), RBTs implement punishment-based procedures only when included in a documented behavior-change plan and after the supervisor has verified competence.
The RBT watches for side effects, records them objectively, and reports them promptly. Side effects are information the supervisor needs to judge whether a procedure should continue.
Example and non-example
| Example | After a response cost procedure begins for hitting at school, the client's hitting decreases at school but increases at home, where no response cost is used. The RBT reports this possible behavioral contrast to the supervisor. |
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| Non-example | A client's hitting increases sharply in the first days after attention is withheld for hitting. That is an extinction burst, a side effect of extinction rather than punishment. |
Don't confuse it with
| Extinction burst | An extinction burst is a secondary effect of extinction, while punishment side effects follow the use of punishment procedures. |
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| Emotional responding | Emotional responding is one side effect that can follow both extinction and punishment; punishment side effects is the broader group. |
Test yourself
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Question 1Which side effect is a known risk when response cost is used in a token economy?
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A: Emotional responding or aggression. Like other punishment procedures, response cost can lead to emotional behavior, aggression or attempts to escape or avoid the situation. This is one reason it is used only when the supervisor includes it in the plan.
- B: Removing tokens does not change them into unconditioned reinforcers.
- C: Faster learning of target behaviors is not a side effect of response cost.
- D: Response generalization is not a known side effect of removing tokens.
Task C.11 · 40-hour curriculum section E
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Question 2Why are reinforcement-based procedures usually tried before punishment procedures?
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D: They are less intrusive, and punishment has side effects. Behavior analysts prefer the least intrusive effective procedures. Punishment can produce side effects such as emotional responses and escape or avoidance, so it is considered only when needed, and always with reinforcement.
- A: The code allows them when they are in a documented plan and the RBT is verified competent.
- B: Punishment, by definition, reduces behavior when it works.
- C: Speed varies; the main reasons are intrusiveness and side effects.
Task D.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.05
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Question 3A plan includes response cost. Over two weeks, the client cries most days when tokens are removed and has started refusing to come to the session table. What should the RBT do?
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C: Report the observations and data to the supervisor promptly. Emotional responses and avoidance can be side effects of punishment. The RBT continues the plan as written and reports promptly so the supervisor can review it.
- A: Stopping a procedure is the supervisor's decision.
- B: Increasing the fine is a plan change and could worsen side effects.
- D: These may be side effects of punishment, and the supervisor needs to know.
Task D.5 · 40-hour curriculum section E · RBT Ethics Code 2.06
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On the RBT exam
This term belongs to task D.6 Secondary effects of extinction and punishment in content area D, Behavior Reduction, which is 14 of the 75 scored questions.