Journal of School Psychology, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 267–277, 2001 Copyright © 2001 Society for the Study of School Psychology Printed in the USA 0022-4405/01 $–see front matter PII S0022-4405(01)00068-1 267 Randomization of Group Contingencies and Reinforcers to Reduce Classroom Disruptive Behavior Lea A. Theodore, Melissa A. Bray, and Thomas J. Kehle University of Connecticut William R. Jenson University of Utah The present study employed an ABAB design to investigate the effect of randomiz- ing both contingencies for reinforcement and reinforcers to decrease classroom disruptive behavior in 5 adolescent students with serious emotional disorder. With the introduction of the intervention, it was found that the percentage of observed intervals of disruptive behaviors decreased immediately and dramatically in all stu- dents. The effect sizes for the 5 participants ranged from 2.6 to 5.2. © 2001 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd Keywords: Disruptive behavior, Group contingencies, Behavior disorders, Random- izing, Serious emotional disorder. Dealing with disruptive classroom behaviors of students with serious emotional disorder (SED) is a major concern of teachers and, consequently, a common focus of consultation for school psychologists (Gutkin & Curtis, 1999). Effec- tively addressing students with SED’s disruptive behavior clearly illustrates the “paradox of school psychology” (Gutkin & Conoley, 1990). That is, to effec- tively address the misbehavior of students with SED, school psychologists must focus their expertise on other adults such as the classroom teacher. Consider- able teacher time, at the expense of academic instruction (Stage & Quiroz, 1997), is allocated in an attempt to control inappropriate and disruptive be- havior. Therefore, the development of efficient and engaging interventions to address disruptive behavior that are easy for the teacher to implement in the classroom is a significant challenge and a primary focus of behavioral consulta- tion. One such intervention—group contingencies—that addresses externaliz- ing behaviors has been shown to be effectively delivered through the behavioral consultative process (Elliot & Busse, 1993). Received July 10, 2000; accepted December 14, 2000. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Thomas J. Kehle, Department of Educa- tional Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-2064. Phone: (860) 486-0166; fax: (860) 486-0180; E-mail: Kehle@unconnvm.uconn.edu