Social reinforcement: a treatment component in verbal self-instructional training

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Disruptive behavior in grade school children presents challenges for educators.
• Social reinforcement is a key factor in shaping child behavior.
• Verbal self-instructional (VSI) training is a potential intervention strategy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of noncontingent social reinforcement on social and academic behaviors.
• To examine the efficacy of VSI training with varying levels of social reinforcement.
• To explore the relationship between social reinforcement and behavioral changes in children.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 24 grade school children (grades 2-5) identified with disruptive behavior.
• Assigned participants to high social reinforcement VSI, low social reinforcement VSI, or a control group.
• Conducted four 40-minute VSI training sessions outside the regular classroom.

Main Results:

• Successfully manipulated social reinforcement levels between groups.
• No significant differences were found in dependent measures between experimental groups.
• A trend in difference scores suggested potential, albeit limited, behavioral gains from noncontingent social reinforcement.

Conclusions:

• Noncontingent social reinforcement may offer limited contributions to behavioral improvements.
• Future research should investigate the role of rapport in treatment outcomes.
• Further studies are needed to refine the application of social reinforcement in educational settings.