A Practical Guide to Reinforcement & Punishment in ABA

In ABA, understanding the terms “reinforcement” and “punishment” form the foundation of what we do. These concepts are essential for anyone looking to effectively manage behaviors, whether you’re an ABA professional or a parent striving for positive outcomes.

Let’s jump into these concepts, exploring their real-world applications and the supportive community that can help you along the way.

Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is crucial in ABA. It means adding a positive stimulus to encourage a desired behavior to happen again in the future. In simple terms, positive reinforcement is about getting something you want for doing something will make you want to do that thing again.

For example, if a child diligently completes their homework and receives enthusiastic praise from a parent or teacher, it motivates them to continue the behavior the next time they have homework.

Another example is a token economy system in which children earn tokens for desired behavior, which can later be exchanged for a reward, such as extra playtime or a favorite snack.

How to Implement

1. Identify a behavior you want to increase. (Let’s say it’s a learner doing their homework.)
2. Choose a reinforcer that is meaningful to the person. (Maybe the child loves painting, so that becomes the reward.)
3. Consistently provide the reward immediately after the desired behavior. (Homework done? Painting time!)
4. Review how implementation worked. (Does painting time after homework successfully motivate the learner to complete their homework the next time? If so, painting is a reinforcer.

Positive Punishment

While positive reinforcement encourages behavior, positive punishment aims to reduce the future likelihood of undesired behaviors by introducing an aversive stimulus. Over time, this can deter the behavior. However, it’s important to note that all positive reinforcement strategies should be used prior to punishment.

For instance, if a child uses unwanted language, they might be assigned extra chores as a positive punishment. If the extra chores have the intended consequence, they will make it less likely for the child to use that language in the future.

How to Implement

1. Identify the behavior to decrease, like a child hitting a sibling.
2. Introduce an aversive consequence. When the hitting happens, extra chores can serve as the consequence.
3. Of course, ensure the punishment is appropriate and ethical.
4. Remember – it is only “punishment” if it decreases the future instances of the hitting behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Negative reinforcement is a term that often gets misused and is a bit of a pet peeve!! Contrary to popular belief, negative reinforcement means taking something away to increase a behavior, not eliminating a behavior by taking something away.

For instance, when your alarm goes off, and you hit the snooze button, you’re removing the noise, which makes you more likely to hit snooze again in the future. This is classic negative reinforcement! Negative reinforcement is synonymous with the term “relief.”

Another example is when a student may be motivated to study diligently in order to avoid the stress of being unprepared for a test.

How to Implement

1. Identify an unwanted stimulus. Maybe it’s the nagging tone of a smoke alarm battery.
2. Recognize the behavior that removes this stimulus, like changing the battery.
3. Reinforce this behavior by acknowledging the relief it brings and encouraging you to change the battery promptly in the future.

Negative Punishment

Negative punishment decreases undesirable behaviors by removing a positive stimulus. Consider a scenario where a child acts aggressively with a toy and, as a result, loses access to that favorite toy. This removal serves as a deterrent to the behavior. Another example is revoking screen time privileges for not adhering to household rules about iPad use.

Balancing negative punishment with positive reinforcement is essential. While addressing undesirable behaviors is vital, it’s equally important to reinforce good ones. This balanced approach fosters more behavior change.

How to Implement

1. Identify the undesired behavior, such as a student being rough with friends in class.
2. Remove a privilege or preferred item, like moving the student’s desk away from preferred peers.
3. Apply this consistently to decrease the behavior, but always ensure it’s fair and not overly harsh.
4. If this strategy works over time to decrease problem behavior, then it would be considered negative punishment.

Punishment & Reinforcement: How to Keep It All Straight?

Here’s a simple chart to try to keep things straight:

	INCREASE future likelihood of behavior	DECREASE future likelihood of behavior
Add things	Positive Reinforcement	Positive Punishment
Take things away	Negative Reinforcement	Negative Punishment

---

Navigating the world of reinforcement and punishment might feel like learning a new language, but with these tips, you’re well on your way to becoming fluent in ABA-speak. Remember, the ultimate goal is to encourage positive behaviors and gently guide away from the less desirable ones.