Consequently, I would, presumably, be less likely to repeat that behavior in the future. One must use caution when using response cost systems, however. In an educational setting, token economy systems can be very valuable tools, but they can be difficult to teach and to get the child to trust. It has been my experience the response cost programs can take a big toll on the effectiveness of a token economy system, they can confuse and greatly upset the child and can lead him to no longer trust the system. Consequently, one must weigh the relative value of possibly decreasing a particular behavior with the cost of possibly losing token economy systems as a teaching tool altogether.
Aversive stimuli are strongly negative stimuli introduced after an undesirable behavior.
Spanking and scolding are the classic examples of aversive stimuli, but they need not be that severe. Aversives as punishment often suppress even good behaviors for fear of punishment, the tend to encourage avoidance, escape, and strong emotional backlash. Aversives may also model inappropriate behaviors as solutions to problems, and may foster negativity between adult and child. Alternatives to Punishment As the purpose of discrete trial training is to teach positive behaviors , there should be no need for punishment when involved in a DTT session. The fact that problem behaviors are not being reinforced should be enough to discourage them in favor of the behaviors to which focus is being given.