Punishers

Author: Denise Partlow

 Instagram: @modernk9 Carolinas

A punisher is something that decreases (or extinguishes) the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated.

A punisher can be positive or negative.

Again let’s think of these terms as relevant to mathematics:

Positive means “add” (+)
Negative means “take away” (-)

A positive punisher means:
I want to punish you by adding an aversive stimulus. This can be done through a citronella collar, leash pop, tap from an E collar (high level), bark collar or invisible fence, the use of a spray bottle, shaking a jar of coins, harsh tone of voice etc.

A negative punisher means:
I want to punish you by taking away something you desire. This can be done by stopping during a walk when your dog begins to pull, turning away if a dog jumps on you, walking away when your puppy nips you, taking away a toy, removal of the dog from an area, withholding treats, etc.

Just like with reinforcers, punishers can only be effective if the timing is precise. The dog must understand which behavior is being punished; and the only way you can tell if it is an effective form of punishment is if it results in a decrease in the frequency of the behavior (or even if it has stopped completely). If the behavior continues with the same intensity during the next occasion, then it is not considered punishment, no matter how harsh.

Karen Pryor, the creator of clicker training, has a really great section in her book, “Don’t Shoot the Dog; The New Art of Teaching and Training” focusing on conditioning an aversive stimuli as a cue as well as using stimuli as reinforcers, if you’d like to learn a little more.

Tomorrow we will discuss how not all reinforcers are created equal

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