The effects of severe behavior problems in children on the teaching behavior of adults.
Severe problem behavior makes adults teach less and aim lower, so protect instructional momentum by training the adult, not just the child.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Dunlap et al. (1991) watched adults teach two kinds of kids. One group had severe problem behavior. The other group had none.
The team counted how often adults gave tasks and how hard the tasks were. They wanted to see if child behavior changed adult teaching.
What they found
Adults backed off when kids acted out. They gave fewer tasks and picked easier ones.
With calm kids the same adults taught more and used richer lessons.
How this fits with other research
Crane et al. (2009) saw the same pattern in trained teachers. When students disrupted, teachers escaped by talking less or giving breaks. This replication shows the 1991 finding holds in real classrooms.
Thomas et al. (1968) flipped the direction first. They proved teacher attention controls child disruption. Dunlap et al. (1991) then showed the loop runs both ways: child disruption later cuts teacher instruction. Together they map a two-way street.
Mitteer et al. (2018) took the idea into the lab. After teaching caregivers functional communication, they simulated an inconsolable child. Three of four adults slid back to old, unhelpful responses. Their lab model confirms child outbursts can erode adult skills minutes after training.
Why it matters
Your treatment plan is only half the picture. If the adult stops teaching when problem behavior starts, the child loses learning time and the behavior pays off. Build adult guardrails up front: write a teaching script, set response rules, and rehearse them under mild mock disruption. Keep the adult delivering rich instruction even when the child escalates so the behavior no longer buys escape.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Applied behavior analysts have focused on how adults can influence the problem behavior of children using a variety of behavior modification strategies. A related question, virtually unexplored, is how the behavior problems of children influence adults. This child-effects concept was explored empirically in a study involving 12 adults who were asked to teach four pairs of children in which one member of the pair exhibited problem behavior and the other typically did not. Results demonstrated that problem children displayed tantrums, aggression, and self-injury contingent on adult instructional attempts but not at other times, whereas nonproblem children showed little or no problem behavior at any time. Importantly, from a child-effects perspective, adults engaged in teaching activities with nonproblem children more often than with problem children. Also, when an adult worked with a problem child, the breadth of instruction was more limited and typically involved those tasks associated with lower rates of behavior problems. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to theories of escape behavior, current assessment practices, and intervention issues related to maintenance. The existence of child effects suggests that problem behavior may be better understood when it is conceptualized as involving a process of reciprocal influence between adult and child.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1991 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1991.24-523