Aversives
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In psychology, aversives are unpleasant stimuli that induce changes in behavior via negative reinforcement or positive punishment. By applying an aversive immediately before or after a behavior the likelihood of the target behavior occurring in the future is reduced. Aversives can vary from being slightly unpleasant or irritating to physically, psychologically and/or emotionally damaging. It is not the level of unpleasantness or intention that defines something as an aversive, but rather the level of effectiveness the unpleasant event has on changing (decreasing) behavior.
Types of stimuli
There are two types of aversive stimuli:
Unconditioned
Unconditioned aversive stimuli naturally result in pain or discomfort and are often associated with biologically harmful or damaging substances or events. Examples include extreme
Conditioned
A conditioned aversive stimulus is an initially neutral stimulus that becomes aversive after repeated pairing with an unconditioned aversive stimulus. This type of stimulus would include consequences such as verbal warnings, gestures or even the sight of an individual who is disliked.
Use in applied behavior analysis (ABA)
Aversives may be used as
Several national and international disability rights groups have spoken against the use of aversive therapies, including
A report from the Food and Drug Administration found that "the literature contains reports that when health care providers have resorted to punishers... the addition of punishers proved no more successful than [Positive behavioral support]-only techniques... Reflecting this trend, a 2008 survey of members of the Association for Behavior Analysis found that providers generally view punishment procedures as having more negative side effects and being less successful than reinforcement procedures."[7] The Behavior Analyst Certification Board has stated their support the use of aversives on children with consent by a parent of guardian.[8][9]
Opposition
The use of aversives in applied behavior analysis is opposed by many advocacy groups for people with disabilities. These include:
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network
- Arc of the United States
- Aspies For Freedom
- Autism Network International
See also
References
- ^ Moser, Dan (1965). "Screams, Slaps & Love: A surprising, shocking treatment helps far-gone mental cripples". Life Magazine.
- ^ Interverbal: Reviews of Autism Statements and Research: A Less Punishing World: Contradictions in Behavior Analysis, Autism, and Punishment
- PMID 12555918. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2007-01-01.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
- ^ Beaudet, Mike (2018-06-28). "Judge sides with school that uses electric shocks on its students". WCVB. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
- ^ "School Shocks Students With Disabilities. The FDA Is Moving To Ban The Practice". NPR. January 23, 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
- ^ "Banned Devices; Proposal To Ban Electrical Stimulation Devices Used To Treat Self-Injurious or Aggressive Behavior". Federal Register. 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
- ^ Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Guidelines for Responsible Conduct for Behavior Analysts, p. 8,
The behavior analyst must obtain the client's or client-surrogate's approval in writing of the behavior assessment procedures before implementing them. As used here, client-surrogate refers to someone legally empowered to make decisions for the person(s) whose behavior the program is intended to change; examples of client-surrogates include parents of minors, guardians, and legally designated representatives
- ^ Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Guidelines for Responsible Conduct for Behavior Analysts, p. 9,
respects the right of the client to terminate services at any time