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The Effects of Punishment on Unpunished Behaviour

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

John Crosbie
John Crosbie*
Affiliation:
Flinders University of South Australia
*
Department of Psychology, Deakin University, Victoria 3217
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Abstract

The present study examined the effects of response-cost on unpunished free-operant responses. Three university students made key-press responses on a computer keyboard and won and lost money as reinforcement and punishment, respectively. Only one response was ever reinforced or punished, but all responses were recorded. When response-cost was introduced for the target response, both target and non-target responses decreased. Whereas the target response remained at a low level throughout the punishment phase, most non-target responses eventually increased to their baseline levels. Of the three theoretical predictions assessed, support was found only for the proposition that the response that follows the punished response most frequently during baseline is reduced during the punishment phase.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 1990, pp. 25 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1990

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References

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