Coercion Theory Essay

2039 Words9 Pages
Running Head: DETAIL REVIEW OF COERCION THEORY A Detail review of coercion theory of conduct disorder: Reinforcement of aversive behavior and reciprocal relationships In its most basic form, coercion theory (Patterson, 1982; Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992; Reid, Patterson, & Snyder, 2002) is a model of the behavioral contingencies that explain how parents and children mutually “train” each other to behave in ways that increase the probability that children will develop aggressive behavior problems and that parents’ control over these aversive behaviors will decrease. These interchanges are characterized by parental demands for compliance, the child’s refusal to comply and his or her escalating complaints, and finally the parent’s capitulation. In this paper, coercion theory will be further reviewed in its two main divisions—the reinforcement of aversive behavior; and the reciprocal relationships of social interaction. Classical methodology supporting this theory, their limitations, and the recent research addressing these limitations will then be discussed. Reinforcement of aversive behavior According to Patterson and Snyder (2002), the basic paradigm involves negative reinforcement and may also involve positive reinforcement. When a behavior stops an aversive stimulus or acquires a desired outcome, the likelihood of its subsequent performance under similar stimulus conditions will be increased. For example, when asked by a parent to do a chore, a child first ignores the parent. As the intensity of the parental request increases in tone and volume, the child refuses outright to do the chore, then yells at the parent to stop asking, and finally runs out the front door. If these behaviors effectively stop the repetition of the undesired parental request, it is likely that the child will repeat them in the future (i.e., behaviors like this are
Open Document