Time-out and Disruptive Behaviors in Children
Time-out is a behavioral strategy used to address disruptive behaviors in children by temporarily withdrawing access to positive reinforcement following inappropriate actions. Rooted in the principles of operant conditioning, time-out can effectively reduce behaviors such as tantrums, aggression, and noncompliance by removing the child from the rewarding environment or situation. While it has shown effectiveness in various settings, including homes and schools, the implementation of time-out is not without controversy. Critics argue that if perceived as punitive, it may have negative effects on children, such as increased feelings of isolation, confusion about their emotions, and potential damage to the parent-child relationship.
For time-out to be effective, it must be devoid of positive reinforcement, the duration should correspond to the child's age, and it should not provide an escape from undesirable tasks. The use of praise and rewards for appropriate behaviors is often recommended as a complementary approach. While time-out has gained significant traction since its introduction in the 1950s, understanding the child's emotional context is crucial. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to explore underlying issues that might contribute to a child's disruptive behavior, fostering a supportive environment that promotes emotional growth.
Time-out and Disruptive Behaviors in Children
- DATE: 1950s forward
- TYPE OF PSYCHOLOGY: Learning; psychological methodologies
SIGNIFICANCE: Time-out refers to the temporary withdrawal of access to positive reinforcement immediately following the performance of an undesirable or maladaptive behavior. It is based on operant conditioning principles and has been widely used to reduce various disruptive behaviors in children.
Introduction
Time-out, also called time-out from positive reinforcement, refers to the temporary suspension of access to reward or positive reinforcement immediately following the performance of inappropriate or maladaptive behavior. Child time-out is administered either by removing positive reinforcement from the situation or the misbehaving child from the situation and placing them in a time-out room or specially designated area.
Time-out has been used to suppress many behaviors in children, including tantrums, physical aggression, noncompliance, and self-injurious behavior. For example, psychologists Montrose Wolf, Todd Risley, and Hayden Mees instituted a time-out for Dicky, their three-and-a-half-year-old autistic client. Whenever Dicky threw his glasses, he was sent to his room for ten minutes. When this time-out procedure was in effect, the frequency of throwing glasses declined to zero within five days. The frequency of throwing glasses increased over three weeks when the time-out procedure was suspended and then dropped to zero within six days when the time-out procedure was reinstated.
Evidence of the selectivity of the suppressive effect of time-out was provided by psychologists Ronald Drabman and Robert Spitalnik, who implemented a time-out procedure for male adolescents in a psychiatric hospital. Boys were placed in a ten-minute time-out room for being physically aggressive or vacating their seats without permission. Time-out significantly reduced the frequency of both target behaviors but did not decrease a nontarget behavior, disallowed vocalizations.
Time-out from positive reinforcement does not have to be administered in a separate room to be effective. In a 1976 study, very young children were required to sit and watch other children for one minute if they exhibited disruptive behavior such as aggression or destruction of toys. In a 1978 study conducted in a special education classroom, a ribbon that signified that a child was eligible to earn social reinforcement in the form of verbal praise and smiles was removed for three minutes if the child was disruptive. Both techniques effectively reduced disruptive behavior and had the advantage that the children in time-out could observe other children’s appropriate behavior and positive reinforcement.
The use of time-out to manage behavioral problems in children has not been without controversy. There is concern that if time-out is used by an adult or perceived by a child as punishment, it may have negative consequences similar to those associated with physical punishment. Potential undesirable effects include generalized suppression of behavior, reduced motivation, and impairment of the adult-child relationship. Isolation time-out also removes the opportunity for learning appropriate behaviors, and its extreme use in schools may violate students’ individual rights. Praise and reward for appropriate “time-in” behaviors has been advocated as a substitute for or supplement to the use of time-out for unwanted behavior.
Effectiveness
Three conditions are considered crucial to the effectiveness of time-out for eliminating disruptive behavior in children. First, the time-out period should be devoid of any positive reinforcement. The location for isolation time-out should be dull. It should not permit more exciting activities than those available in the “time-in” environment. Ignoring a child in isolation time-out is also important to ensure the absence of social attention, a powerful reinforcer for children. Second, release from time-out should occur only after the specified duration has elapsed and appropriate behavior is exhibited. This contingency prevents the reinforcement of an unwanted behavior coincident with release from time-out. Third, time-out should not enable escape from or avoidance of activities that a child finds unpleasant. In such cases, not only will time-out fail, it may be countertherapeutic and increase disruptive behavior.
Studies have demonstrated that short-duration time-outs may be superior or equal to long-duration time-outs unless the child has been exposed to time-outs of longer duration. The general recommendation for children is one minute for each year of the child’s age. Research has also suggested that consistent application of the time-out contingency may be more important than the duration. Finally, time-out from an enriched environment is more effective than time-out from an impoverished one.
A commonly held belief about time-outs is that they are harmless but effective means to discipline children. But the truth is different. For a child, a time-out can feel like being set aside and forgotten. What is worse, time-outs do not address the real reasons for their behavior. Time-outs leave kids feeling lost and alone. A child sent away after acting out feels punished, not guided. They struggle to understand their emotions and grow more confused. Over time, it drives a wedge between parent and child. The sentiment conveyed suggests that love is contingent upon behavior—that is, parents may express love for their children primarily when they are behaving appropriately. Children often learn to hide their feelings, suppressing them, only to face anxiety, eating disorders, and struggles with managing emotions later. Parents must look beneath their disruptive behavior. Are they weary or hungry? Has their world shifted—a new sibling, a parent gone, a pet lost? When parents see these changes, they can meet their children where they are, offering support to help them grow strong.
Origin of Time-Out
Time-out was introduced by the behavioral psychologists Charles B. Ferster and B. F. Skinner in Schedules of Reinforcement (1957). Originally, time-out denoted removing all conditioning stimuli and inserting a brief period of darkness, a blackout, following an incorrect or nonreinforced response in a discrimination procedure, or an error on a matching-to-sample procedure in nonhuman animals. The use of time-out as a procedure for controlling disruptive behavior in children first appeared in the early 1960s. Four decades later, it was recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics as an alternative to physical reprimands. Its widespread use by parents and teachers to manage children with emotional and behavioral disorders at home and school, respectively, reflects one of psychology’s most successful social inventions.
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