NCJ Number
142467
Date Published
1971
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Because the failure of inmates to keep appointments with caseworkers, psychologists, and other professional personnel wastes staff time and subjects the inmate to disciplinary procedures, this experiment was conducted to determine if appointment-keeping behavior could be improved by systematically applying behavior modification principles in which prompt attendance was rewarded and tardiness or failure to report was given negative social reinforcement.
Abstract
Subjects included 33 male inmates between 18 and 24 years of age at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida. These subjects had been absent or tardy for at least half of the first nine scheduled appointments with their psychologist. Of the 33 subjects, 11 served in a control group; the remaining 22 subjects were exposed to positive, neutral, and negative contingencies to determine the type of reinforcement to which each subject was most responsive. Data showed a significant improvement in attendance promptness and reliability for subjects exposed to positive and negative contingencies. Absences decreased from 83 to 26 percent, and average lateness declined from 16 to 4 minutes. No such changes were noted for the control group or the neutral contingency group. Approval of prompt attendance (positive reinforcement) worked much better than disapproval of lateness (negative reinforcement), indicating that institutions depending on prompt arrival of personnel should consider systematic social reinforcement to increase promptness. 41 references, 8 tables, and 2 figures