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 Response cost is a form of punishment in which a set amount of earned or held positive reinforcers are withdrawn in response to the occurrence of a behavior and there is a reduction in the likelihood of future occurrences of that behavior.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 response cost, the individual does not lose access to reinforcers; instead, previously earned reinforcers are removed in response to the behavior.

The concept of response cost is based on the principles of applied behavior analysis. Its effects on human behavior and learning have been studied extensively since the 1950s, and response cost has been found to be a very effective strategy for reducing the occurrence of many undesirable behaviors in a variety of settings, such as hospitals, schools, and classrooms. For example, when a student loses recess time as the result of inappropriate behavior in class or gets a lower grade due to a number of missing homework assignments, and these consequences result in an improvement in the student's behavior, response cost is being implemented.

If implemented appropriately, response cost generally is an effective behavior management strategy that is easy to apply in educational settings and tends to shape a problem behavior fairly quickly. A professional can implement response cost without complicated charts, extensive training, or expensive materials. For example, a teacher can track the amount of time a student is off task during work time and simply deduct that time from the student's already scheduled recess or break time. Additionally, response cost is a flexible approach that can be utilized in a variety of ways. Response cost implementation can be managed directly and primarily by teachers or incorporated into systems that are managed and tracked by students themselves, providing opportunities to promote selfmanagement. Response cost also can be applied to shape the performance of groups. For example, a school principal may reward classes for demonstrating appropriate lunchroom behavior by giving extra recess time or may reduce recess time as the result of problems in the lunchroom. Finally, response cost works well with other behavior intervention strategies, such as positive reinforcement and prosocial skills instruction, to create a comprehensive approach to behavior change.

Token economies frequently are used to create a system of reinforcement for students learning new social and academic skills. As students demonstrate the desired behavior, such as raising their hand and waiting to be called on to speak, they receive a set amount of tokens or points (positive reinforcers) for these behaviors. When students engage in an undesired behavior, such as talking out, they contingently lose a set amount of those tokens or points. When positive reinforcement and response cost are applied systematically, students receive ongoing feedback about their behavior, gaining reinforcers for demonstrating desired behaviors and losing them when engaging in undesired behaviors.

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