Tantrums constitute a serious behavior problem frequently manifested by children in educational settings. Three developmentally disabled children were observed during a series of sessions in which the presence or absence of instructional demands was systematically manipulated. Tantrums occurred at a high rate when demands were presented, but rarely occurred in the absence of demands. Further, when a signal was given that demands had terminated, the rate of tantrums immediately dropped. These results were interpreted as consistent with a coercion hypothesis of tantrum control. Specifically, tantrums were conceptualized as a form of escape behavior maintained by negative reinforcement resulting from termination of an aversive stimulus; in this case, demands. A treatment was designed that attempted to reduce the aversiveness of the demand situation by introducing strongly preferred reinforcers to make tantrums nonfunctional. The treatment produced strong, sustained suppression of tantrums and increased levels of task compliance. Results were interpreted as providing evidence for the generality of coercion as an explanatory construct in childhood psychopathology and as demonstrating the heuristic value of this construct vis-a-vis the design of treatment.
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