Glossary
Future punishment
What is Future Punishment?
Future punishment tells a person that performing an unwanted behavior will lead to punishment or the removal of a reward.
Future punishment vs. a warning about risk
The defining feature is an anticipated punitive consequence. General information about a natural health risk is not automatically the same technique. Threatening a consequence and delivering it are also different intervention components.
An example of future punishment
A program tells participants that a specified rule violation will lead to the loss of a privilege. The message announces the consequence in advance. Removing the privilege after a violation would be a separate action.
How the technique is defined
The original BCT Taxonomy v1 definitions specify this as technique 10.11. The code identifies the announced consequence; it does not show that the threat changes behavior.
Why it matters
Different messages can look threatening while doing different things. Explaining a health risk describes a possible consequence of the behavior. Announcing a penalty specifies what an intervention will impose. Keeping that distinction clear helps identify what is actually being tested.