Response Cost vs Positive Reinforcement

Let's start talking about punishment based strategies compared to "earning" reinforcing strategies.

I'm scared and angry

Reinforcement:

It's something that increases the "likelihood" of our behavior. OMG what the heck does that mean.

We like what we like, we do things because we like it, because we get something out of it, whether that is a fun experience, talking to people, talking to family, being competitive, learning, learning something new, earning money (bc).

Trying to understand what is reinforcing is IMPORTANT

"Positive Reinforcement Strategies are a Slow Burn" as spoken by Mimi - a Behavior Technician

What this can mean is it may be harder at first to make some changes, it might cause emotions that we didn't see before, but with hard work and consistency we can put the "burn" out and work towards a longer lasting outcome.

Punishment:

It's something that is "taken away" in hopes that it will change and increase the wanted behavior. The idea is that, if you can't get it, more will be taken away.

"If you don't, you wont get your video game time"

THE ISSUE

We will talk about the consequences of punishment

Punishment based procedures, may work for some but not for most. It highlights what someone is doing wrong, versus highlighting what they did right.

If you walked around a block, or park that is nearby, but every time you did you tripped and hurt yourself. Having to end the walk early and go home (to attend to the pain). I would feed sad.

If someone kept yelling at you because you forgot to put away shoes more than they said nice things. That would make me mad!

I would feel less motivated to go back to the park and may not even want to do the walks anymore. A Consequence of punishment is to take away or lose something

If you don't put your shoes away, no more fun!

Punishment based strategies are linked to more avoidant type behaviors. Because of the emphasis on what was wrong versus what was going good.

THE POINT

Taking away, can lead to a deficit.

When a deficit occurs, how can we help to get them out of it. For kids who are still learning - adding a disability to their learning already puts them at a disadvantage

Making sure that the strategy you are using is having the desired effect is more so the POINT. Most work better with positive reinforcement based strategies, some can respond to negative reinforcement (or punishment) based strategies. It's super important to consider what strategy you are using if things are not working out.