What does punishment do in operant conditioning?

In operant conditioning, punishment serves to decrease the likelihood of a behavior occurring again in the future. This process involves introducing an adverse consequence or removing a positive stimulus following an undesired behavior. The intention behind this is to discourage the behavior by creating an association between the behavior and an unfavorable outcome.

For instance, if a child touches a hot stove (the undesired behavior) and feels pain (the adverse consequence), this experience serves as punishment and is likely to decrease the chance of the child touching the stove again in the future. The effectiveness of punishment relies on its timing and consistency; applying it immediately after the undesired behavior is crucial for establishing the connection between the behavior and the consequence.

In contrast to increasing a behavior or establishing new ones, which is commonly achieved through reinforcement, the purpose of punishment is specifically to reduce harmful or undesirable behavior patterns.