A time-out is most likely to backfire as a form of discipline when:
AThe time-out runs one minute for each year of the child's age
BThe caregiver stays calm while directing the child to sit out
CThe child is removed from an activity that he already disliked
DThe child is given a kind word once the time-out has finished
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. The child is removed from an activity that he already disliked
1. Time-out works on the principle of negative punishment: a pleasant stimulus is removed so that the behaviour decreases.
2. That logic holds only if the child is being removed from something desirable and placed somewhere less desirable.
3. If the activity was one the child disliked, removal takes away something aversive, which reinforces the misbehaviour instead of punishing it, and the chapter warns that the technique will backfire.
4. The other three options describe the chapter's recommended practice: roughly one minute per year of age, remaining calm, and a hug or kind word at the end.
5. A related trap is that caregiver attention during the time-out can itself reinforce the misbehaviour, which is why the child is ignored throughout.
_Source: OpenStax Psychology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 "Learning", §6.3 Operant Conditioning_
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