To determine the best punishment schedule to suppress behavior, the article explores the effects of different punishment schedules on response rates. Here are the key findings:
- Continuous Punishment:
- Continuous punishment, where every response is punished, produced the most rapid and complete suppression of responses. When high-intensity punishment (e.g., 80 volts or more) was used initially, responses were likely to be completely and usually irreversibly suppressed. Lower intensities initially allowed for higher intensities later without complete disruption (Azrin et al., 1963, p. 141).
- Continuous punishment resulted in immediate and almost complete suppression of responses, especially when every response was punished (FR-1) [(Azrin et al., 1963, p. 142)].
- Fixed-Ratio (Intermittent) Punishment:
- Fixed-ratio punishment (e.g., punishing every 300th response) led to an initial suppression followed by a gradual recovery and positive acceleration of responses between punishments. Eventually, responses stabilized at a reduced rate [(Azrin et al., 1963, p. 142)].
- The degree of suppression was directly related to the proportion of responses punished. Higher ratios (e.g., punishing every 100th or 1000th response) produced less suppression compared to punishing every response (FR-1). All values of fixed-ratio punishment produced a uniform reduction in response rate between punishments [(Azrin et al., 1963, p. 143)].
- Intensity of punishment affected the level of suppression but did not alter the uniformity of response rates during fixed-ratio punishment [(Azrin et al., 1963, p. 143)].
- Comparative Analysis:
- Continuous punishment is more effective at rapidly and completely suppressing behavior compared to intermittent punishment. However, continuous punishment also led to a sudden recovery and compensatory increase in responses once the punishment was terminated, while recovery after intermittent punishment was more gradual [(Azrin et al., 1963, p. 146)].
- Intermittent punishment with fixed-ratio schedules required careful management of punishment intensity and frequency to achieve suppression without complete behavioral disruption [(Azrin et al., 1963, p. 147)].
Conclusion: Continuous punishment (every response punished) is the most effective schedule for rapidly and completely suppressing behavior, although it requires careful management of punishment intensity to avoid irreversible suppression.
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