Effects of physical restraint on the behavior of hyperactive mentally retarded persons.

The effects of brief response-contingent physical restraint on the behavior of four hyperactive moderately or severely mentally retarded persons were investigated. Each instance of out-of-seat behavior resulted in a return to the seat followed by a 15-second physical restraint. Using a combined reversal and multiple-baseline across subjects design, we found that the out-of-seat behavior of all four subjects increased during the two implementations of the restraint contingency when compared with levels obtained during alternative baseline periods. Possible reasons for the increase in the behavior under the restraint contingency rather than the expected decrease were discussed.