Elsevier

Behavior Therapy

Volume 11, Issue 3, June 1980, Pages 329-344
Behavior Therapy

Acceptability of time out from reinforcement procedures for disruptive child behavior*

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(80)80050-5Get rights and content

Acceptability of time out and reinforcement procedures as applied to deviant child behavior was evaluated in two experiments. Clinical cases were described to undergraduate students along with four different treatments in a replicated Latin Square design. Experiment 1 compared the acceptability of nonexclusionary time out (withdrawal of attention and contingent observation), exclusionary time out (isolation in a time out room), and reinforcement of incompatible behavior to treat behavior problem children. Reinforcement of incompatible behavior and nonexclusionary forms of time out were rated as more acceptable than isolation. Experiment 2 examined whether the acceptability of isolation could be increased by altering the manner in which it was presented and implemented. The four treatments included isolation, isolation presented in a contingency contract, withdrawal of attention backed by isolation, and reinforcement of incompatible behavior. The results indicated that isolation was markedly more acceptable when included in a contingency contract and when used to back up another form of time out than when used by itself. Overall, the results suggested that acceptability of alternative treatments can be readily distinguished and that procedures can be added to a particular treatment to increase its acceptability.

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    *

    Completion of this research was facilitated by Grant MH31047 from the National Institute of Mental Health

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