The effects of a child's self-evaluation program on compliance with parental instructions in the home.

Parents wanted better listening at home. Researchers taught one child to score his own behavior every five minutes.

If the child marked "I followed directions" he dropped a poker chip in a jar. At the end he traded chips for small prizes.

The team flipped the plan on and off four times to be sure the chip system was really working.

Compliance rose and rude talk dropped while the chip plan was in place.

Gains were bigger and lasted longer when mom first rated the child herself. After mom set the pace, the child’s own ratings kept the good behavior going.

Nelson et al. (1978) ran a near-copy study in a group home. Their youths kept the same cleaning scores whether staff or the kids did the rating. The home study showed self-ratings can stand alone; the new home study shows mom’s ratings first give an extra boost.

Einfeld et al. (1995) later used the same self-score plus reward package in classrooms. Older students with behavior disorders gained far more peer skills when they rated themselves. The package travels well from preschool to elementary age.

McGee et al. (1983) tried the idea in reverse: teach self-rating in a small resource room, then move kids to the regular class. Most students kept their good behavior, proving the routine can generalize across settings.

You can cut parent-child battles by adding a five-minute self-rating break. Start by having the parent judge yes/no, then let the child take over the clicker. The simple hand-off keeps compliance high even after chips fade.