Synonyms

Negative punishment; Type II punishment

Definition

Omission training is a behavior-analytic term that refers to a form of punishment in which an event is withdrawn contingent on the occurrence of a target behavior (e.g., property destruction, aggression toward other people). In the behavior-analytic literature, omission training typically is considered to be negative or Type II punishment. Everyday examples of omission training include loss of privileges (e.g., having to leave the zoo early contingent on hitting your mom, loss of one’s driver’s license for getting too many speeding tickets). Time-out and response cost are the two most commonly used forms of omission training. Time-out is the removal of a positive event contingent on the occurrence of a challenging behavior. Response-cost is the removal of a specified amount of a positive reinforcer contingent on the occurrence of a challenging behavior (see “Time-out” and “Response Cost” entries for additional details).

See Also

  • Punishment

  • Time-out

  • Response-Cost