Punishment happens, but the state of behavior analysis is changing for the better

Ferrier and colleagues read every ABA study that used punishment from 2015-2022. They coded the type of punishment, whether a functional assessment came first, and if the authors asked families how they felt about the plan.

The team logged 1,250 articles. They looked for trends: are we using milder consequences, are we checking with clients, and are we still doing full FBAs?

Physical punishment (arm pulls, restraint) dropped by half since earlier decades. Verbal reprimands and brief loss of tokens now make up most punishment procedures.

Social-validity checks tripled. About one in three new studies now asks parents or teachers, 'Is this okay with you?' Functional assessment use, however, slipped 15 percent.

Fontes et al. (2021) warned that Sidman's scary side effects (aggression, escape) are not showing up in recent data. Ferrier's numbers agree: fewer extreme side effects are reported as physical punishment fades.

Aman et al. (1993) once showed more FA articles still used intrusive tactics. Ferrier updates that story: intrusions are lower, yet FA itself is losing ground—an unexpected twist.

Nesselrode et al. (2022) found schools still run long analog FAs. Ferrier's wider scan shows the same drop in FA across all settings, not just classrooms.

You can feel safer recommending mild, socially checked consequences. The field is moving that way. But don't skip the FBA—its declining use is a red flag. Build a quick brief-FA habit and you keep both trends positive: milder punishment plus solid assessment.