Phone phobia, phact or phantasy? An operant approach to a child's disruptive behavior induced by telephone usage

The clinical efficacy of a contingency management program for treating a developmentally disabled girl referred for telephone phobia was evaluated using both a multiple baseline across settings design and a reversal design. A descriptive analysis indicated that the 'phobia' was in all probability an operant, rather than a respondent. The treatment, consisting of differential reinforcement, extinction and time-out, was effective in reducing the frequency and intensity of disruptive behaviors in response to telephone usage. Follow-up assessments at 1, 3, and 6 months revealed that treatment gains were maintained.