Timeout from positive reinforcement following persistent, high-rate behavior in retardates.

Two children with intellectual disability kept hitting and yelling. Staff moved each child to a small quiet room for a few minutes right after the behavior.

No extra rewards were given for good behavior. The team just watched if the break room stopped the hitting and yelling.

The short break room cut the hitting and yelling to almost zero for both kids. Other bad behaviors also dropped, even though they were never put in the room for those.

When staff stopped using the room, the problems came back. Bringing the room back made the problems drop again.

McReynolds (1969) used the same short break trick three years earlier. That study gave the break for wrong sounds during speech training and it worked. Both papers show a quick break can stop different behaviors.

Green et al. (1975) seems to disagree. Their animals worked harder when the break was removed, calling the break a reward. The key difference is the animals’ work was kept going by electric shocks. For kids whose behavior is not shock-based, the break still acts like a punisher.

Jenkins et al. (1973) built on this idea by adding tokens with the break. Their package worked even better, showing you can boost effects when you pair the break with rewards for good behavior.

You now have early proof that a brief isolation break can cut problem behavior without extra rewards. Use it as a first step when you need a quick drop in dangerous acts. Watch for return when you fade the break, and think about adding tokens later for longer-lasting change.