Behavioral intervention with hyperactive children: Group consequences as a supplement to individual contingencies

Abstract

Group reward and individual reward for individual behavior were compared during a 4-week treatment and a 4-week maintenance period with two groups of hyperactive elementary school children. Each child was rated four times daily on individually determined target behaviors, and at the end of the school day the child exchanged his cards for candy, either for himself (individual reward) or for himself plus his classmates (group reward). Standardized teacher ratings of hyperactivity and weekly ratings of problem behaviors both indicated a significant treatment effect although no difference was found between the two groups. The treatment effects were maintained during a 1-month treatment withdrawal. A teacher questionnaire designed to assess teacher satisfaction with the treatment programs indicated that the group reward program was significantly more popular than the individual reward program. The experimental results indicate that behavioral intervention can be successfully applied to hyperactive children, producing changes in behavior similar to those reported with drug-related therapies.