Delay of punishment and choice behavior in the rat.

Trained 4 groups of female Sprague-Dawley albino rats (N = 24) to press each of 2 bars for reward delayed 120 sec. A different set of distinctive cues prevailed between bar press and food depending on which bar was pressed. For experimental Ss shocks were then introduced following each response to the preferred bar. The response-shock interval was 1.5, 12, or 96 sec. Experimental Ss' preference shifted from the shock bar; preference remained the same for no-shock controls. The rate of changes was a negative function of delay of shock, but final percentage of responses to the nonshock bar was the same for all delays. Results support the hypothesis that delay of punishment as such has no effect on choice at asymptote. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Punishment of consummatory and instrumental behavior: Effects on licking and bar pressing in rats.

Maintained licking and bar pressing in 48 male hooded rats by intermittent water reinforcement. Shock punishment was delivered for either a reinforced or nonreinforced lick or bar-press response. Punishment suppressed licking more than bar pressing. Pairing punishment with reinforcement had little effect on overall response suppression. In Exp. II with 18 Ss, Ss punished for the 1st lick after a reinforced bar press showed more response suppression than Ss punished for the reinforced bar press. Results support R. Solomon's (see record 1965-00694-001) hypothesis than consummatory behavior is more sensitive to punishment than instrumental behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Curvilinear effects of severity of punishment on species-typical aggressive display in Betta splendens..

Three experiments examined the effects of the severity of punishment, defined in terms of intensity/voltage (Exp I), duration (Exp II), and frequency combined with 2 levels of intensity (Exp III), on the aggressive display of Siamese fighting fish. Findings show that display duration was a curvilinear function of punishment severity regardless of whether severity was defined as intensity, duration, or frequency. Relative to nonpunished conditions, moderate levels of punishment increased display duration, whereas strong punishment led to suppression. Increased biting was observed with moderate levels of punishment frequency. Results are discussed in terms of adaptive significance of the organism's reaction to counteraggression. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facilitative and suppressive effects of punishment on species-typical aggressive display in Betta splendens.

Determined effects of moderate and intense punishment on aggressive behavior. Following either 15 or 45 massed presentations to a mirror, 35 Siamese fighting fish were punished for aggressive display (gill extension). Intense shock punishment led to complete suppression of the display. Recovery of the display depended on the level of habituation, i.e., only the fish given 15 mirror presentations prior to punishment showed recovery. Given "room" for an increase, a moderate level of punishment led to longer displays. A 2nd experiment with 6 Ss confirmed this latter finding with spaced (daily) blocks of trials. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vicarious punishment in a work setting.

Investigated the effects of punishment on the attitudes and behavior of co-workers (CWs) who observed a peer receiving punishment to test the hypothesis that observing a CW receive punishment will have a positive effect on observers' productivity without damaging job satisfaction. 60 students were hired through a university placement office for temporary clerical employment. Ss were exposed to observing either a CW receiving a reduction in pay or a threat of a reduction in pay or to no punishment (controls). Results support the hypothesis that punishment may be used effectively in work settings: Ss who observed a CW receiving a reduction in pay produced significantly more than controls and Ss who observed a threat of a reduction in pay. These effects did not diminish after 1 wk, and Ss across groups did not differ in levels of job satisfaction. Because none of the Ss knew each other, it is suggested that the absence of negative side effects may not have held if CWs had observed someone they knew receiving punishment. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of intensities of punishment upon children's subsequent moral judgments of behavior.

Administered either high or low punishments in the form of candy removal to 24 1st and 2nd graders ostensibly for their performance on a keypressing task. Punishment was actually presented according to a preprogrammed schedule independent of the S's responding. Interspersed with these trials, stories were told about children who resisted temptations, and the Ss assigned rewards or punishments to these characters. Following high punishment, the Ss punished the characters less frequently and intensely than after low punishment. Since modeling and reward-deservedness explanations are untenable in this study, the results are interpreted in terms of image improvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of intermittent punishment-partial reward training on resistance to continuous punishment.

Investigated the effect of adding a partial reinforcement procedure to an intermittent punishment procedure on subsequent resistance to continuous punishment. 36 naive male albino Wistar rats served as Ss. Results indicate that the addition of partial reinforcement training increases the resistance to continuous punishment. This superior resistance cannot be seen as being equal to a simple sum of resistance due to intermittent punishment alone or partial reward alone. Results are discussed in terms of theories of resistance to fear and frustration. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social class, moral orientation, and severity of punishment on boys' moral responses to transgression and generosity.

In 2 experiments with a total of 128 2nd- and 3rd-grade boys, the effects of social class, moral orientation, and severity of punishment on moral responses to transgression and generosity were investigated. In Exp I, a modified version of J. Aronfreed's task (see record 1964-02542-001), the response measures were the self-critical and reparative responses on the transgression trial, the self-critical responses prior to this trial, and the number of candies removed by the S during the task. In Exp II, the S was asked if he wished to donate any of his candy from Exp I to a "needy" child. Results indicate a differential effect of punishment treatment on the responses of the various moral orientation Ss. The flexible moral orientation Ss punished themselves less and donated more candy than the rigid Ss across the punishment conditions. The data suggest that the flexible moral orientation Ss may be more "mature" and "internalized" than the rigid orientation Ss. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral reasoning and attitudes toward capital punishment.

Addressed 3 aspects of L. Kohlberg's (1981, 1984) theory of moral development, specifically the relationship between (1) levels of moral reasoning used to support opposing positions on a moral problem (the structure issue); (2) moral stage, conceptual complexity, and attitudes about capital punishment (the form/content issue); and (3) moral orientations and attitudes about capital punishment (the orientation/content issue). A sample of 72 students (aged 17–45 yrs) completed a paragraph completion test (assessing conceptual complexity), wrote an essay on capital punishment (assessing moral stage and orientations), and responded to a capital punishment questionnaire (assessing attitudes). Results indicate that Ss at higher moral stages were increasingly complex and tended to oppose capital punishment. Ss did not always use higher moral reasoning to substantiate their own position on capital punishment; rather they used higher reasoning to oppose capital punishment. Also, Ss expressed considerations reflecting different orientations when supporting opposite positions on this moral problem. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response suppression in humans as a function of contingent and non-contingent punishment: Signal properties of stimuli.

Trained an instrumental goal (G) response in 40 undergraduates in 4 groups under intermittent reward (money). When the acquisition criterion was met, reward was withdrawn and different punishment treatments administered. Group C received contingent punishment (electric shock) of the G response whenever it was omitted. Shock occurring on a variable interval schedule provided noncontingent punishment to another group (NC). Contingent and noncontingent punishments were combined and administered to Group C and NC. The 4th group (E) served as a control and received no punishment. This entire study was repeated, and both experiments indicate that the C treatment yielded most suppression, even exceeding that obtained under the C and NC procedure which administered more punishments. Results favor the notion that punishment acts in an analogous, but opposite direction to reward, and that its consequences may be predicted on the basis of the consistency of the information conveyed by a punisher. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intermittent punishment of self-stimulation: Effectiveness during application and extinction.

Performed 2 studies comparing the effectiveness of FR and VR schedules of punishment during application and extinction. In Study 1, the self-stimulatory behavior of a young boy was punished on both an FR 1 and a VR 5 schedule using a multi-element, multiple-baseline reversal design. Study 2 investigated the effects of FR 1 and VR 5 schedules of punishment on multiple forms of self-stimulation in a young girl using a multi-element multiple-baseline reversal design. Both studies indicated no difference in the suppressive effects of the FR 1 and VR 5. Study 2 indicated that the VR schedule produced superior resistance to extinction. Both studies found significant positive "side effects" of punishment in terms of increased play and social behavior as well as increased performance of academic tasks. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental differences in the suppressive effects of punishment.

Used 3 levels of shock intensity (1, 2, or 3 ma.), 3 test delay periods (0, 5, or 25 days), and 25- and 100-day-old male Long-Evans hooded rats (N = 104) in a study of developmental differences in recovery from the suppressive effects of punishment. The apparatus was a Y maze with 3 discriminably different arms. After 10-14 sessions of positive reinforcement, Ss were shocked for 2 sessions each time they responded in 1 arm. Following these shock sessions, a delay was given prior to the recovery sessions. Results from the shock days indicate that the number of shocks to suppression was a function of age, intensity, and shock days. The recovery data showed that (a) recovery was an inverse function of intensity, (b) the suppressive effects of punishment were much greater for the adults than the infants at all intensities, and (c) recovery was not a function of delay periods. Results support the hypothesis that younger organisms have greater difficulty than older ones in inhibiting a response. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Capital punishment: Arguments for life and death.

Investigated the effects that argument position (for or against the death penalty and type of justification for punishment (deterrence, morality, rehabilitation, incapacitation, economic, and possibility of mistake) have on the sentence recommendations of 305 university students (aged 17–54 yrs) for a defendant found guilt of 1st-degree murder. Only those arguments in favor of the death penalty, based on retribution, economics, and impossibility of mistake were effective in influencing Ss to recommend that the accused be sentenced to death. None of the arguments used to persuade participants to choose a life sentence rather than a death sentence had any significant effect. Compared to Ss who recommended a life sentence, Ss who recommended the death penalty were found to have significantly higher scores on a measure of vengeance. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proactive behavioral effects of theta-driving septal stimulation on conditioned suppression and punishment in the rat.

In 2 experiments, a treatment phase of septal stimulation preceded the acquisition of free operant leverpressing on a random-interval 64-sec reinforcement schedule. 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats were chronically implanted with a bilateral septal stimulating electrode and a unilateral bipolar hippocampal recording electrode. Ss received (a) low-frequency (7.7 Hz) stimulation, which drove the hippocampal theta rhythm; (b) random-pulse stimulation (average frequency 7.7 Hz), which produced only nonregular waveforms in the hippocampus; or (c) no stimulation. After 12 days of leverpress acquisition, Ss were presented while leverpressing with an auditory signal associated with a particular schedule of shock delivery: In Exp I, shocks occurred despite the S's response strategy; in Exp II, shocks were delivered only if the S pressed the lever. In both experiments, leverpressing was suppressed by the auditory stimulus. Theta-driving but not random-pulse septal stimulation proactively increased behavioral tolerance to the effects of electric shock. Results support the idea that proactive behavioral effects of septal stimulation are a consequence of the production of the hippocampal theta rhythm. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychopathy and punishment.

An experiment to test the hypothesis that psychopathy is associated with deficient passive avoidance learning under punishment. 75 High Pd and 75 Low Pd female undergraduates, equated for intelligence, learned a list of 10 nonsense syllables under 1 of 3 conditions of reinforcement: verbal reward, verbal punishment, and absence of comment by E. Punishment significantly retarded the learning of Low Pd Ss, but not that of High Pd Ss. No significant differences occurred under reward or neutral conditions. The hypothesis was considered confirmed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fixed-ratio schedules increase generalized self-control: Preference for large rewards despite high effort or punishment.

Three experiments investigated the effects of FR reinforcement on generalized self-control involving high effort and punishment. In Experiment 1, rats received food in a runway for the completion of each round trip (continuous-reinforcement group) or every fifth round trip (FR group). Control rats received food at the same temporal intervals as these groups but without any instrumental requirement. When all rats were next given a series of choices between a large food reward requiring high lever force versus a small reward requiring low lever force, the FR rats showed the greatest self-control. In Experiments 2 and 3, rats were rewarded on a continuous or FR schedule followed by choice between a large food reward accompanied by intermittent shock vs a small or absent food reward without shock. The FR rats again showed the greatest self-control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of continuous and intermittent self-monitoring on academic behavior.

Conducted a project with 27 undergraduate Ss dealing with review preparation for the general aptitude portions of the Graduate Record Examination. A linear teaching machine programed with quantitative and verbal problems was employed. The Ss were randomly assigned to 4 conditions: (a) continuous self-monitoring, (b) intermittent self-monitoring, (c) performance feedback, and (d) control. Self-monitoring Ss were instructed to record their progress by pressing a counter on either a continuous or intermittent schedule following correct answers. Performance-feedback Ss received information on the accuracy of their responding but were not given the opportunity to self-monitor. Control Ss received neither self-monitoring instructions nor performance feedback. Results show that self-monitoring Ss remained for significantly longer review sessions and that this effect was more pronounced under the continuous rather than the intermittent schedule. Self-monitoring Ss also displayed significantly better accuracy on quantitative problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Type of punishment as a determinant of resistance to deviation.

Compared the effectiveness of an aversive stimulus, withholding of resources, withdrawal of love, and reasoning, when used alone and when combined with praise, in a standard laboratory punishment paradigm using 120 1st- and 2nd-grade boys and girls as Ss. Resistance to deviation and stability of resistance to deviation were used as the measures of punishment effectiveness. Sex of child, use of praise, and type of punisher were combined in a 2 * 2 * 5 factorial design, with a female as the punitive agent. An aversive stimulus appeared to produce more suppression of deviant behavior, but the effect was not significant for all response measures. The stability of the deviant response pattern varied for each punisher, but the most stable response pattern resulted from the use of an aversive stimulus. Neither use of praise nor sex of child significantly influenced punisher effectiveness. Results are discussed within the framework of anxiety arousal and information content of the punishers, and the practice of grouping various punishers under the categories of sensitization and induction measures is considered. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of social reward and punishment on dependent and dependency-anxious schizophrenics.

Several recent studies have reported mild social punishment to be more effective than social reward for motivating schizophrenics' learning. However, theoretical formulations of schizophrenia, as well as learning studies with normals, suggest that the relative effectiveness of positive and negative reinforcement varies with the individual's dependency needs and conflicts. This study was therefore designed to determine whether social rewards and social punishments would have differential effects upon the learning performance of highly dependent (HD) and highly dependency-anxious (HD-A) schizophrenics. In accord with theoretical expectations, the dependent Ss performed better under rewards than under punishment, while the dependency-anxious Ss performed better under punishment than under rewards. However, these differential reactions extinguished within a surprisingly short period. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pavlovian and instrumental determinants of response suppression in the pigeon.

Exp I demonstrated the formation of a discriminated punishment effect in the absence of a conditioned emotional response. Electric shocks were delivered at random intervals to 3 naive male White Carneaux pigeons pecking for food on a variable-interval schedule. During a 1-min visual conditioned stimulus (CS), scheduled shocks were delayed until a response occurred (punishment). Differential suppression to the CS was observed in addition to overall suppression. Suppression was related to shock intensity. In Exp II with the same Ss, CS suppression was related to the CS and was not an artifact of response pattern or discrimination of shock patterns. The punishment contingency without the CS did not suppress behavior, and the CS without the punishment contingency did not relieve suppression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)