Effects of differential negative reinforcement on disruption and compliance.

The team compared two ways to let a child escape hard work.

In one way the child had to ask for a break. In the other way the child had to finish the task first.

They flipped the two rules across sessions and watched disruption and compliance.

Both rules cut disruption about the same.

Only the finish-the-task rule made compliance go up.

Asking for a break did not raise compliance at all.

Thomas et al. (1968) showed teacher praise lowers disruption. The 1995 study adds that escape can work too, but only if you tie it to compliance.

McConkey et al. (1999) gives a 5-minute test to find what kids will work to escape. Use that test first, then pick the finish-the-task rule shown here.

Shahan et al. (2021) warns that later thinning the escape schedule can bring problem behavior back. Plan small steps when you fade the rule.

Luehring et al. (2026) got a 72% drop in severe behavior with full DR packages. Their data say the escape piece matters most for kids with trauma and NDD.

If you run DNR for escape, make the break hinge on compliance, not just a request. You still stop disruption, but you also build the skill you really want. Start with the brief NR test from McConkey et al. (1999) to be sure escape is the reinforcer, then run the compliance-first version. Fade slowly to avoid the resurgence Shahan et al. (2021) describe.