Behavior modification with culturally deprived school children: two case studies.
Teacher attention plus brief timeout quickly lifts appropriate behavior and keeps it there.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two second-grade girls in a regular classroom kept acting out. The teacher gave warm attention when they behaved and a brief timeout when they did not. The researchers flipped this plan on and off four times to be sure it worked.
What they found
Each time the plan was on, the girls raised hands, stayed seated, and followed directions. Each time it was off, the old problems returned. Three months later the good behavior was still strong.
How this fits with other research
Hall et al. (1971) ran the same teacher-delivered package in mixed grades and saw the same quick drop in talking back. The 1969 result is not a one-off.
Zimmerman et al. (1962) tried a similar plan earlier, but with boys in a special room. The 1969 study shows the same idea works in a normal class without extra staff.
Thompson et al. (1974) flipped the lens: when student disruption fell, the teacher naturally gave more praise. The child’s gain pulls more positives from the adult, no extra training needed.
Why it matters
You already have the only tool you need—your attention. Praise what you want, briefly remove attention for what you don’t, and watch the room settle. The effect holds after the bell rings and across the summer.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Techniques of behavior modification were employed with two second-grade Negro girls in a demonstration school for culturally deprived children to increase the girls' appropriate classroom behaviors. A classification system that provided for continuous categorization of behavior was used to code the children's behavior in two classroom situations. Data were also taken on the type, duration, and frequency of the teachers' verbal interactions. The study included four conditions: Baseline, Modification I, Postmodification, and Modification II. The treatment variable was positive social reinforcement-attention and approval contingent upon desirable classroom behaviors-which was presented, withheld, or withdrawn (timeout from social reinforcement). Withholding of social reinforcement was contingent upon inappropriate attention-getting behaviors. Timeout from social reinforcement was contingent upon behaviors classified as aggressive and resistive. After 25 days of Modification I, desirable behavior increased markedly for each girl. The teachers were then asked to return to their Baseline level of performance. The resultant behaviors demonstrated that for one girl, behavior was still primarily under the control of the treatment contingencies. For the second child, many desirable behaviors that had increased in frequency during Modification I remained high, but inappropriate behaviors increased. When treatment was reinstated, the amount of time spent in desirable behaviors increased and remained high for both girls. Three checks during the three months following data collection showed that these behaviors continued to remain high.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1969 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1969.2-181