Parental Positive Reinforcement Might Make a Difference:

Abstract

Forehand (1986) has recently suggested that parental positive reinforcement, although a technique preferred by parents, may be superfluous in the treatment of deviant children. Further, he appears to suggest that timeout is the treatment of choice. In this rejoinder we suggest that reinforcement has not been adequately identified and measured, and that families are too complex to use procedures that are simple and one-dimensional. A more comprehensive ecobehavioral analysis is recommended.