Punishment
Punishment is the converse of reinforcement: it acts to decrease the probability of a behavior, and consists of the delivery of an aversive stimulus (positive punishment, or simply ‘punishment’) or the removal of an appetitive stimulus (negative punishment or ‘omission training’). There are two types of punishment:
Positive punishment (‘Punishment’) : Giving of an unpleasant or aversive stimulus following a behavioral response . It decreases the frequency of the behavioral response.
Negative punishment (‘Omission training’): Taking-away of a pleasant or appetitive stimulus following a behavioral response. It decreases the frequency of the behavioral response.
There are three kinds of aversive conditioning. In punishment, a response is followed by an aversive event, which results in the response being suppressed. In escape, an individual learns to make a response in order to terminate an ongoing aversive event.