The influence of different response consequences on children's preference for time-out

Abstract

The suppressive effects of time-out from positive reinforcement (TO) were investigated with preschool children in two experimental conditions: (a) where the response alternative to TO was reinforced with the same frequency as the punished response, and (b) where the response alternative to TO was placed on extinction. In condition (a), TO produced complete and lasting suppression, whereas in condition (b), the response which led to TO was significantly preferred. An interesting and unexpected finding concerned the high incidence of response “bursts” on the extinction manipulandum by several Ss in condition (b). Examination of the individual response records revealed that the “bursting” reaction to TO was typical of Ss having initially high response rates, but not of Ss whose initial response rates were relatively low.