Abstract
Parent-child problems within the home are frequently reported to be instances in which children refuse to help with household chores, bicker among themselves, or engage in verbally inappropriate behavior toward their parents. The present study investigated the effects of a token reinforcement program administered by the parents in ameliorating these problems. Two sets of parents, with a total of five children between the ages of 5 and 10 yr, were taught to administer a token economy within their homes. The parents received instruction in specifying desired social and chore behaviors, communicated these behavioral goals to their children, recorded data on their occurrence, and managed a point system backed with reinforcers normally found in the home. The token reinforcement program was shown to have successfully modified 15 problem behaviors in Family 1 and six in Family 2. In addition, the parents rated all 21 behavior changes as significant improvements. These studies indicated that some cooperative parents need only a small amount of professional help to learn to manage their children's behavior problems with token reinforcement procedures.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Baer D. M., Wolf M. M., Risley T. R. Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. J Appl Behav Anal. 1968 Spring;1(1):91–97. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1968.1-91. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bernal M. E. Behavioral feedback in the modification of brat behaviors. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1969 Apr;148(4):375–385. doi: 10.1097/00005053-196904000-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hall R. V., Axelrod S., Tyler L., Grief E., Jones F. C., Robertson R. Modification of behavior problems in the home with a parent as observer and experimenter. J Appl Behav Anal. 1972 Spring;5(1):53–64. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1972.5-53. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hall R. V., Cristler C., Cranston S. S., Tucker B. Teachers and parents as researchers using multiple baseline designs. J Appl Behav Anal. 1970 Winter;3(4):247–255. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1970.3-247. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hawkins R. P., Peterson R. F., Schweid E., Bijou S. W. Behavior therapy in the home: amelioration of problem parent-child relations with the parent in a therapeutic role. J Exp Child Psychol. 1966 Sep;4(1):99–107. doi: 10.1016/0022-0965(66)90054-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- LEVITT E. E. PSYCHOTHERAPY WITH CHILDREN: A FURTHER EVALUATION. Behav Res Ther. 1963 May;1:45–51. doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(63)90007-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- LEVITT E. E. The results of psychotherapy with children: an evaluation. J Consult Psychol. 1957 Jun;21(3):189–196. doi: 10.1037/h0039957. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Phillips E. L. Achievement Place: token reinforcement procedures in a home-style rehabilitation setting for "pre-delinquent" boys. J Appl Behav Anal. 1968 Fall;1(3):213–223. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1968.1-213. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Phillips E. L., Phillips E. A., Fixsen D. L., Wolf M. M. Achievement Place: modification of the behaviors of pre-delinquent boys within a token economy. J Appl Behav Anal. 1971 Spring;4(1):45–59. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1971.4-45. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wahler R. G. Oppositional children: a quest for parental reinforcement control. J Appl Behav Anal. 1969 Fall;2(3):159–170. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1969.2-159. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wahler R. G., Winkel G. H., Peterson R. F., Morrison D. C. Mothers as behavior therapists for their own children. Behav Res Ther. 1965 Sep;3(2):113–124. doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(65)90015-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Zeilberger J., Sampen S. E., Sloane H. N. Modification of a child's problem behaviors in the home with the mother as therapist. J Appl Behav Anal. 1968 Spring;1(1):47–53. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1968.1-47. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]