Effects of group contingent events upon classroom noise.
A ten-minute quiet timer that resets on any noise over 42 dB plus two bonus gym minutes can slash class noise almost instantly.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three regular elementary classes tried a group deal. If the room stayed quiet for ten straight minutes, everyone earned two extra gym minutes.
A teacher flipped a timer when noise stayed under 42 dB. Any louder peep reset the clock. The study ran the deal across three quick experiments.
What they found
Noise dropped fast and stayed low. Kids worked to keep the timer running. Gym time acted like cash they all wanted.
The simple reset rule beat teacher pleas and individual warnings.
How this fits with other research
Abou-Eid (2026) later used teacher-led sensory breaks to cut preschool skin-picking. Both studies show one adult move can calm a whole room. Ahmed extends the 1969 idea to younger kids and a new problem.
Ward et al. (2017) flipped the timeout idea. They let one child "wait out" from work to cut escape fits. W et al. used timeout on the whole class, Ward used it on the task itself. Same tool, opposite aim.
FARMEMOORHEARSKELLEHER et al. (1964) warned timeout is tricky. Lab work found no clean link between timeout length and behavior change. The 1969 field study answers by showing a clear reset rule that worked in real class noise.
Why it matters
You can shrink class noise tomorrow with a free phone decibel app and a kitchen timer. Set a quiet goal, pick a group reward, reset on any breach. No extra staff, no tokens, no charts. Try it during seat-work first; watch the room police itself.
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Join Free →Put a timer on the whiteboard, set the dB app to 42, and tell the class they earn five extra recess minutes after one full quiet stretch.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The first study investigated a group control procedure for suppression of excessive sound-intensity levels in a regular public school classroom. Reinforcement consisted of a 2-min addition to the class gym period and a 2-min break after maintenance of an unbroken 10-min quiet period as monitored on a decibel meter. Transgressions of the sound limit (42 decibels) resulted in a delay of reinforcement by the resetting of the timer to the full 10-min interval. The results indicated that these procedures were highly effective in suppression and control of sound intensities. The second experiment utilized a similar procedure coupled with a procedure of eliminating out-of-seat behavior. Experiment III studied the effects of Exp. II procedures on a single student's out-of-seat behavior rate. All procedures were found effective.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1969 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1969.2-171