Publication
N. H. Azrin, W. C. Holz, and D. F. Hake. Fixed-Ratio Punishment. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 6(2) (1963). [17]
Site summary — not the original abstract
Azrin, Holz, and Hake studied seven pigeons whose key pecks continued to earn food while electric shock followed every response or every specified number of responses; intermittent punishment produced slower and less complete suppression than continuous punishment under the compared conditions. [17]
The paper describes recovery after punishment ended and attributes some persistent suppression to particular histories of high-intensity exposure; its discussion of initially “irreversible” suppression does not establish that all punishment effects are permanent. [17]
These laboratory response-rate findings do not identify a generally best punishment schedule or establish the welfare of a dog-training procedure. [17]
Responses