Classroom Management Strategies: Are They Setting Events for Coercion?

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the Patterson and Reid (1970) reciprocal/coercive interaction hypothesis as related to the classroom social interactions between teachers and students identified with severe behavior disorders. Additionally, four classroom behavior management strategies are identified as potential setting events for either coercive or positive reciprocal interactions between teachers and students. The literature reviewed indicates that teachers are more likely to attend to student inappropriate behavior (an indicator of coercive interactions) than they are to use positive verbal attention for appropriate behavior (an indicator of positive reciprocal interactions). From this perspective, the authors speculate that the management strategies of posting classroom rules, classroom arrangement, teacher movement in the classroom, and external reinforcement systems (e.g., token economies) may more likely be used as setting events to enhance the effects of teacher coercion rather than potential setting events to enhance positive reciprocal interactions. Recommendations are made for research concerning this hypothesis and for teachers' use of these strategies as setting events for positive reciprocal interactions.