Description of the Strategy

Response cost is a special case of a punishment procedure that involves taking away desirable possessions, points, tokens, or privileges in planned, incremental steps following the occurrence of an undesirable behavior or failure to meet a specific goal. That is, behaving inappropriately or in an undesirable manner costs the individual something they already possess or privileges they currently enjoy and expect to have access to in the future. Technically, the cost component of the procedure is referred to as a “loss of reinforcers”—which means that individuals lose something they value or consider desirable and currently possess—and the procedure results in a reduction in or weakening of behavior following the removal of a positive stimulus. Its end goal, as with ...