Blindisms: Treatment by Punishment and Reward in Laboratory and Natural Settings

Abstract

Reports on study designed to test the effectiveness of using punishment (pre-recorded sound of chalk screeching on a blackboard) and positive reinforcement to reduce blindisms (stereotypic behaviors) in blind children. The data for six independent experiments indicated a marked decrease in the stereotypic behaviors. There was no evidence that a reduction in one kind of stereotypic behavior produced a corresponding increase in another kind (symptom substitution) and in fact other untreated behaviors also showed a decrease in four of the six experiments. The reduction of the stereotypic behaviors also generalized to other classrooms and this reduction was maintained over a ten day period without further treatment.