Effects of a reduced time-out interval on compliance with the time-out instruction.
Promise a shorter time-out for quick compliance—preschoolers start moving faster and behavior stays low.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Six preschoolers who ignored time-out instructions took part.
The teacher said, "Go to time-out." If the child went right away, the timer dropped from four minutes to two.
If the child stalled, the full four minutes stayed in place.
What they found
Four of the six kids started walking to time-out faster when the shorter wait was on the line.
All six kept low problem-behavior levels, so the deal did not weaken time-out power.
How this fits with other research
Amore et al. (2011) tried the same group with a fixed early-release rule. Kids got out early for sitting quietly, not for starting quickly. The new twist—shorten only if they obey the first words—adds a clear start-up cue.
Lord et al. (1986) showed brief time-out works with or without a release delay. The 2013 study moves the timing change to the front end, proving you can trade seconds at the start instead of minutes at the end.
Emerson et al. (2007) paired time-out with escape extinction and saw higher compliance. Capio et al. (2013) hit the same goal without extra escape steps, handy when escape is not the main function.
Why it matters
You can sharpen time-out without making it longer or tougher. Tell the child, "Start now and your break is shorter," then follow through. The rule is easy to state, quick to track, and keeps the classroom calm. Try it next time a student drags his feet to the chair.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
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 evaluated a procedure designed to reduce problem behavior and increase compliance with the verbal instruction to go to time-out. Specifically, we reduced the time-out interval contingent on compliance with the time-out instruction. Six preschool-aged boys participated in the study. Time-out effectively reduced the problem behavior of all 6 participants, and the procedure to increase compliance with the time-out instruction was effective for 4 of 6 participants.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2013 · doi:10.1002/jaba.40