Reducing adolescent cell phone usage using an interdependent group contingency

Jones et al. (2019) worked with one alternative high-school class.

The kids were 14-18 years old.

The teacher set a group rule: if every student kept their phone in a pocket for the whole period, the whole class earned ten extra minutes of break time.

The researchers flipped the rule on and off four times to be sure it worked.

Phone use dropped the moment the rule started.

It stayed low every time the rule was on.

One target student cut use from 80 % to almost zero.

The whole class followed the same pattern.

Cariveau et al. (2017) used a similar group reward with second-graders.

They showed the trick still works after you remove the reward if you leave the cue in place.

Joslyn et al. (2020) tried the Good Behavior Game in another alternative school.

They got big drops in disruption even when teachers skipped steps.

Together the three studies say: group contingencies work across ages and can survive real-world slippage.

Jiménez et al. (2022) add a tip: once the new norm starts, natural peer pressure can keep it going.

You may not need prizes forever.

You can kill phone distraction in one class period.

Pick a reward the whole class wants—extra break, music time, or free pizza slice.

Post a simple rule: “All phones in pockets, timer starts when one is out.”

Watch the room, not each kid.

If phones pop back out, flip the rule off and on again until the habit sticks.