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…

Three studies with elementary handicapped and nonhandicapped students demonstrated that verbal reprimands were effective in altering disruptive behavior when delivered with eye contact, with a grip on students' shoulders, and by standing closer to the student. Reprimands delivered to one member of a pair reduced the disruptive behavior of both…

We conducted descriptive observations of 5 individuals with developmental disabilities and severe problem behavior while they interacted with their caregivers in either simulated environments (an inpatient hospital facility) or in their homes. The focus of the study was on caregiver reprimands and child problem behavior. Thus, we compared the…

The mother of a 3-year-old girl who showed "autistic-like" behavior was cued via a FM wireless microphone to systematically approve and disapprove of her child's behavior. After baselines were taken on two categories of problem behavior (Pre-Academic and Social Behavior) the social contingencies were applied successively to each category. The…