Responseย Costย is a type ofย negative punishmentย where a learner loses access to positive reinforcers or privileges as a consequence of engaging in undesirableย behavior. The removal of these reinforcers is intended to decrease the future occurrence of the problemย behavior.
Example
A child earns tokens for completing tasks, which can be exchanged for a reward. If the child engages in disruptiveย behaviorย during class, the teacher may take away a token as a consequence. The loss of the token serves as aย responseย cost, decreasing the likelihood that the disruptiveย behaviorย will occur in the future.