Long-term partial reinforcement extinction effect and long-term partial punishment effect in a one-trial-a-day paradigm

An analysis of treatment integrity of response interruption and redirection

“…Therefore, one potential explanation for the difference in findings between Smith et al and those of Lerman and Iwata, Ahrens et al, and the current study may be the difference in whether experimenters were able to establish a history of continuous punishment. Basic studies (Banks, ; Shemer & Feldon, ) have found that exposure to intermittent punishment prior to continuous punishment does not lead to sufficient response suppression. Applied studies (Rollings & Baumeister, ; Romancyzk, ) have shown intermittent punishment to be effective only following recent exposure to continuous punishment.…”

On the Status of Knowledge for Using Punishment: Implications for Treating Behavior Disorders

“…Results of numerous basic studies have shown that prior experience with the punishing stimulus either contingently or noncontingently can decrease a behavior's sensitivity to punishment (e.g., Capaldi, Sheffer, Viveiros, Davidson, & Campbell, 1985;Halevy, Feldon, & Weiner, 1987). For example, research findings with rats indicate that exposure to intermittent punishment with shock decreases the efficacy of continuous punishment with shock, even when several days or weeks lapse between intermittent and continuous punishment (Banks, 1967;Halevy et al;Shemer & Feldon, 1984). Deur and Parke (1970) replicated this effect with normally developing children and a loud buzzer as the punishing stimulus.…”

“…When initial attempts to treat a behavior with intermittent punishment fail, caregivers may switch to a continuous schedule of punishment in an attempt to improve the efficacy of the treatment. Basic findings indicate that a history with intermittent punishment may complicate treatment success in these cases, such that more intense punishers will be required to suppress behavior effectively (Halevy et al, 1987;Shemer & Feldon, 1984). However, the relevance of these findings to the types of punishers that are more commonly used in clinical settings is unknown because nearly all basic studies in this area evaluated the effects of shock, and no applied studies have replicated and extended these findings to problem behavior.…”