Interdependent group contingency and mystery motivators to reduce preschool disruptive behavior

Abstract

AbstractChildren exhibiting challenging and disruptive behaviors can require teachers to spend a substantial amount of time on classroom management. Disruptive behaviors in the classroom impact the learning process by taking time away from academic instruction. Further, preschoolers who are disruptive are more likely to continue displaying problematic behaviors throughout the remaining school years. Relative to other age groups, there is a paucity of interventions for preschool children with disruptive behavior. Additionally, children from lower economic backgrounds are at a greater risk for both learning and behavioral problems, as characterized by the preschoolers enrolled in Head Start. Group contingencies are practical, efficient, and teacher‐friendly behavioral interventions that have been employed with older age groups to reduce disruptive behavior. An ABAB reversal design across 9 preschoolers enrolled in a Head Start classroom was employed to assess the effects of an interdependent group contingency with mystery motivators to reduce disruptive classroom behaviors. The present investigation revealed remarkable reductions of disruptive behavior across all 9 participants. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 53–63, 2007.