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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1968 Sep;11(5):595–607. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1968.11-595

Suppression of behavior by timeout punishment when suppression results in loss of positive reinforcement1

Arnold Kaufman, Alan Baron
PMCID: PMC1338534  PMID: 5722425

Abstract

This investigation, using rats as subjects and punishment by timeout for responses maintained on a ratio schedule, sought to determine whether behavior would be suppressed by timeout punishment when such suppression also reduced reinforcement density or frequency. A series of experiments indicated that timeout punishment suppressed responding, with the degree of suppression increasing as a function of the duration of the timeout period. Suppressive effects were found to decrease as a function of increases in deprivation (body weight) and were eliminated when the punished response also was reinforced. It was concluded that timeout can produce aversive effects even when loss of reinforcement results. An alternative interpretation of the findings, based on the effects of extinction periods and delay of reinforcement on chained behavior, was discussed.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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