Response Cost

Description of Strategy

Anyone who has paid a speeding ticket, a library fine, or a late fee on a credit card payment has experienced response cost. Response cost is a form of punishment in which a set amount of earned or held positive reinforcers are withdrawn in response to the occurrence of a behavior and there is a reduction in the likelihood of future occurrences of that behavior. If the undesired behavior does not decrease when the program is implemented, then the intervention is not functioning and needs to be reconsidered or abandoned. Response cost is sometimes confused with time-out, in which the individual loses access to positive reinforcers for a set period of time after the occurrence of a behavior. However, with ...