Comparison of individual and group contingencies in two special classes

Abstract

Individual and group contingencies in controlling undesirable behaviors in two special classrooms were compared. An undesirable behavior was tabulated whenever a student disturbed a classmate or left his seat without permission. During group contingencies (GC), the numbers 25, 24,…, 0 were listed on the blackboard. Following each undesirable behavior, by any class member, the teacher crossed off the highest remaining number on the board. After each session, all students received the number of tokens which corresponded to the highest remaining number. During individual contingencies (IC), the teacher wrote each child's name of the board, with the numbers 25, 24,…, 0 below each name. Following an undesirable act, the teacher crossed off the highest number under the responsible child's name. After each session, every student received the number of tokens corresponding to the highest remaining number under his name. Tokens were exchangeable for a variety of reinforcements. Experimental conditions for Class I were: Baseline, IC, Baseline2, GC, and Baseline3. Class II received IC and GC in the opposite order. It was found that IC and GC were equally effective in controlling misbehavior. GC, the more convenient system, also produced more nontarget behavior incompatible with academic progress.