Time-out is a negative punishment procedure that parents and teachers commonly use to reduce problem behavior; however, specific time-out parameters have not been evaluated adequately. One parameter that has received relatively little attention in the literature is the mode of administration (verbal or physical) of time-out. In this study, we…

Few studies have evaluated ways to thin punishment schedules. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of using variable ratio (VR) schedules to thin the time-out schedule gradually. Warnings were used in some conditions to assist potentially with schedule thinning, but this analysis was limited. Participants were 3 young students who…

Results of a functional analysis indicated that a man diagnosed with autism engaged in bizarre sexual behavior in the presence of women wearing sandals. Several treatments proved to be ineffective or impractical. By contrast, a response-interruption/time-out procedure quickly eliminated the problem behavior in multiple settings. (Contains 1…

A common recommendation for implementing time-out procedures is to include a release contingency such that the individual is not allowed to leave time-out until no problem behavior has occurred for a specific amount of time (e.g, 30 s). We compared a fixed duration time-out procedure to a release contingency time-out procedure with 4 young…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of high probability requests and time-out as treatments for noncompliance which appeared to be maintained by contingent attention in two developmentally normal children. The introduction of high-probability requests increased compliance for one child but not the other. Time-out was effective with both…

Cases of deviant child behavior were described to 88 undergraduate students along with four different treatments (reinforcement of incompatible behavior, time out from reinforcement, drug therapy, and electric shock). Reinforcement of incompatible behavior was more acceptable than other treatments which followed, in order, time out from…

The study evaluated a commonly used component of brief time-out, in which release from time-out is delayed contingent on the occurrence of the disruption. Data were collected for one normal and two mentally retarded children on time-out producing behaviors and delay-producing behaviors during time-out. (Author/CL)

This study evaluated effects of noncontingent and contingent protective equipment as treatment for self-injurious hand mouthing by two women with profound mental retardation. Behavior change appeared to be effected in both conditions. Results suggest either a punishment or a timeout interpretation, rather than an extinction interpretation, for the…

Six behavior analysis graduate students instructed parents with a history of child abuse and neglect in the use of time-out, before and after receiving training in time-out themselves and before and after training in behavioral consultation. Proficiency at administering time-out was insufficient for instructing others in its application; explicit…

The present study developed a timeout procedure that did not require removal of the misbehaver from the learning environment and applied the procedure to the disruptive behaviors of five severely retarded children (8 to 18 years old). (Author/SBH)

This study found that, in a task context, differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) effectively reduced problem behavior and increased task performance of 2 adolescents with severe disabilities (ages 15 and 19), whereas a time-out procedure was ineffective. In a leisure context, time-out was effective while DRO was ineffective.…

The behavior of four boys who were referred for oppositional, rule violating, and aggressive behaviors was assessed by direct observation and parent reports. Changing contract behavior to solitary toy play resulted in reduced oppositional behavior during the observation sessions, fewer reports from the parents of low-rate problem behaviors, and…

Twelve children (ages 40-62 months) with developmental disabilities were divided into 2 groups. One group received functional communication training as an intervention for their challenging behavior, and the second group received time-out. Both interventions were initially successful, but durable results were achieved only with functional…