Things other than listeners can also come to exert audience control. Places such as churches and libraries may act as “negative” audiences because they have been the occasion upon which many forms of verbal behaviors have been followed by punishment.
A type of controlling variable with the following features:
The audience is usually a listener in the presence of whom verbal behavior is typically reinforced
It controls a group of response forms
Whether or not the listener provides reinforcement for the current response
The size or specific nature of the response forms controlled