Phone phobia, phact or phantasy? An operant approach to a child's disruptive behavior induced by telephone usage.
The clinical efficacy of a contingency management program for treating a developmentally disabled girl referred for telephone phobia was evaluated using both a multiple baseline across settings design and a reversal design. A descriptive analysis indicated that the 'phobia' was in all probability an operant, rather than a respondent. The treatment, consisting of differential reinforcement, extinction and time-out, was effective in reducing the frequency and intensity of disruptive behaviors in response to telephone usage. Follow-up assessments at 1, 3, and 6 months revealed that treatment gains were maintained.
Babbitt
R L
RL
Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205.
Parrish
J M
JM
D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D005201:Fantasy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D013689:Telephone