Some Experiments on Reinforcement Principles Within a Psychiatric Ward for Delinquent Soldiers¹

Several experiments exploring the effects of certain behavioral procedures were performed on a psychiatric ward for delinquent soldiers. Within the context of a point economy, the behavioral procedures were examined for their applicability to this patient group in a hospital-ward setting. The following procedures were studied: (1) use of points as consequences for specific behaviors compared with demonstration of "model" behavior by a ward officer; (2) punishment by a point-fine to control undesired behavior; (3) use of a chaining-type reinforcement contingency to increase desired behavior; (4) differential reinforcement of the individual versus the group to increase the frequency of a verbal performance; and (5) reinforcement of reports of personal problems versus impersonal problems.