Reinstatement as a method to increase the effectiveness of discipline in the school or home

Ninety first-grade boys who left their seats and played with toys in a tempting situation were assigned randomly to one of three conditions of reinstatement: minimal reinstatement, verbal reinstatement, or verbal and behavioral reinstatement. Half of each group received mild discipline, the other half, no discipline. Discipline was defined as the withdrawal of a physical resource (a marble) and a verbal rebuke. Reinstatement was defined as the detailed rehearsal (either behavioral or verbal) of the undesirable behavior sequence. After an intervening task, the boys were placed in the tempting situation again, and time before playing with some toys was recorded. Results confirmed two hypotheses and did not confirm two other hypotheses: discipline was significantly more effective than no discipline; reinstatement significantly increased the effectiveness of discipline; discipline with verbal and behavioral reinstatement was no more effective than discipline with verbal reinstatement alone. Verbal reinstatement and verbal plus behavioral reinstatement were no more inhibiting than minimal reinstatement when followed by no discipline.