NCJ Number
177389
Journal
National Drug Court Institute Review Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: Summer 1999 Pages: 1-32
Date Published
1999
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This article reviews basic behavioral research on the effects of punishment and negative reinforcement for predicting and controlling behavior and makes recommendations based on this research on the use of graduated sanctions in drug court programs.
Abstract
The discussion notes that research on the impact of graduated sanctions on the effectiveness of drug courts is limited. The circumstances and contexts of basic behavioral research in this area differ from the drug court setting, but the principles that have emerged appear to apply across a variety of settings. This research reveals that sanctions need not be painful, humiliating, or injurious and that sanctions are in the eyes of the person receiving them. In addition, sanctions must be of sufficient intensity, should be delivered for every infraction, and should be delivered immediately. Moreover, undesirable behavior must be reliably detected, and sanctions must be predictable and controllable. Furthermore, sanctions may have unintended side effects; behavior does not change by punishment alone. Punishment is most likely to be effective in the long run when used in combination with positive reinforcement of behaviors that are incompatible with the undesired behavior, carry their own natural rewards and are likely to be rewarded in the person's natural social setting. Negative reinforcement differs from punishment in that it focuses on increasing desirable behavior rather than on decreasing undesirable behavior. Further research is needed on several issues related to these topics. Footnotes and 53 references