Abstract
A review of self-injurious behavior (SIB) indicates several biological variables that should be considered in future research. A current hypothesis, that SIB is reinforced by attention, receives support but inadequately accounts for evidence that SIB can arise in the absence of reinforcement, is often difficult to modify, and has features unlike those of conditioned behavior. Alternative possibilities are suggested. Neurological damage is common in populations displaying SIB and may produce inadequate pain perception or avoidance. Stereotyped behavior, also common in these populations, may also be related to SIB. Stress and isolation, both strongly correlated with SIB, may evoke this behavior by altering levels of biogenic amines and affecting the probability of aggressive responses. Finally, SIB may have been favored in evolution by group and kin selection, as the loss of a damaged individual may actually favor his genotype through promotion of relatives. These alternatives are not necessarily mutually incompatible nor do they preclude a degree of flexibility in SIB. SIB may result from the interaction of several variables that independently increase its probability.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, K. E., & Harris, F. R. Elimination of a child's excessive scratching by training the mother in reinforcement procedures.Behavior Therapy and Research 1966,4 79–84.
Anisman, H. Time-dependent variations in aversively motivated behaviors: Nonassociative effects of cholinergic and catecholaminergic activity.Psychological Review 1975,82 359–385.
Anisman, H. Neurochemical changes elicited by stress: Behavioral correlates. In H. Anisman & G. Bignami (Eds.),Psychopharmacology of aversively motivated behavior. New York: Plenum Press, 1977.
Ayllon, T., & Azrin, N. H. Punishment as a discriminative conditioned reinforcer with humans.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 1966,9 411–419.
Azrin, N. H., & Holz, W. C. Punishment. In W. K. Honig (Ed.),Operant behavior: Areas of research and application. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1966.
Azrin, N. H., Kaplin, S. J., & Foxx, R. M. Autism reversal: Eliminating stereotyped self-stimulation in retarded individuals.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1973,78 241–248.
Azrin, N. H., Rubin, H. B., & Hutchison, R. R. Biting attack by rats in response to aversive shock.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 1968,11 633–639.
Bachman, J. Self-injurious behavior: A behavioral analysis.Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1972,80 211–224.
Bennett, E. L., & Rosenzweig, M. R. Chemical alterations produced by environment and training. In A. Lathja (Ed.),Handbook of neurochemistry (Vol. 6). New York: Plenum Press, 1971.
Berkson, G. Abnormal stereotyped motor acts. In J. Zubin & H. Hunt (Eds.),Comparative psychopathology. New York: Grune and Stratton, 1967.
Berkson, G., & Davenport, R. K. Stereotyped movements and mental defectives. I. Initial survey.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1962,66 849–852.
Berkson, G., & Mason, W. A. Stereotyped movements of mental defectives. IV. The effects of toys on the character of the acts.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1964,68 511–524.
Brain, P. What does individual housing mean to a mouse?Life Sciences 1975,16 187–200.
Bryson, E., Sekati, N., Nyhan, W. L., & Fish, C. H. Self-mutilative behavior in the Cornelia de Lange syndrome.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1971,76 319–324.
Bucher, B., & Lovaas, O. I. Use of aversive stimulation in behavior modification. In M. R. Jones (Ed.),Miami symposium on the prediction of behavior, 1967: Aversive stimulation. Coral Gables, Florida: University of Miami Press, 1968.
Byrd, L. D. Responding in the cat maintained under response-independent electric shock and response-produced electric shock.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 1969,12 1–10.
Cain, A. C. The presuperego “turning inward” of aggression.Psychoanalytic Quarterly 1961,30 171–208.
Carlton, P. L. Brain acetylcholine and inhibition. In J. T. Tapp (Ed.),Reinforcement and behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1969.
Corte, H. E., Wolf, M., & Locke, B. J. A comparison of procedures for eliminating self-injurious behavior of retarded adolescents.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 1971,4 201–205.
Cross, H. A., & Harlow, H. F. Prolonged and progressive effects of partial isolation on the behavior of Macaque monkeys.Journal of Experimental Research in Personality 1965,1 39–49.
Davis, K. V., Sprague, R. L., & Werry, J. S. Stereotyped behavior and activity level in severe retardates: The effect of drugs.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1969,73 721–727.
deCatanzaro, D. A., & Baldwin, G. Effective treatment of self-injurious behavior by a forced arm exercise.American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1978, in press.
deLissovoy, V. Head banging in early childhood: A suggested cause.Journal of Genetic Psychology 1963,102 109–114.
Dizmang, L. H., & Cheatham, C. F. The Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.American Journal of Psychiatry 1970,127 671–677.
Duker, P. Behaviour control of self-biting in a Lesch-Nyhan patient.Journal of Mental Deficiency Research 1975,19 11–19.
Erwin, J., Mitchell, G., & Maple, T. Abnormal behavior in non-isolate-reared rhesus monkeys.Psychological Reports 1973,33 515–523.
Ferenzi, S. The unwelcome child and his death instinct. In S. Ferenzi,Final contributions to the problems and methods of psychoanalysis. New York: Basic Books, 1955.
Ferster, C. B. Positive reinforcement and behavioral deficits of autistic children.Child Development 1961,32 437–456.
Fitzherbert, J. The origin of headbanging.Journal of Mental Science 1950,96 793–795.
Foxx, R. M., & Azrin, N. H. The elimination of autistic self-stimulatory behavior by overcorrection.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 1973,6 1–14.
Frances, A., & Gale, L. The proprioceptive body image in self-object differentiation: A case of congenital indifference to pain and head-banging.Psychoanalytic Quarterly 1975,44 107–126.
Freeman, B. J., Graham, V., & Ritva, E. R. Reduction of self-destructive behavior by overcorrection.Psychological Reports 1975,37 446.
Freud, A. Problems of infantile neurosis: A discussion. InThe psychoanalytic study of the child. New York: International Universities Press, 1954.
Frieh, G. Chimpanzee frustration responses.Psychosomatic Medicine 1942,4 233–251.
Genovese, E., Napoli, P. A., & Bolego-Zonta, N. Self-aggressiveness.Life Sciences 1969,8 513–515.
Gluck, J. P., & Sackett, G. P. Frustration and self-aggression in social-isolate rhesus monkeys.Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1974,83 331–334.
Goldfarb, J. Psychological privation in infancy.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 1945,15 247–255.
Gray, J. A.The psychology of fear and stress. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971.
Green, A. H. Self-mutilation in schizophrenic children.Archives of General Psychiatry 1967,17 234–244.
Hamilton, J., Stephens, L., & Allen, P. Controlling aggressive and destructive behavior in severely retarded institutionalized residents.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1967,71 852–856.
Hamilton, W. D. The genetical theory of social behaviour, I, II.Journal of Theoretical Biology 1964,7 1–52.
Hamilton, W. D. Selection of selfish and altruistic behavior in some extreme models. In J. F. Eisenberg & W. S. Dillon (Eds.),Man and beast: Comparative social behavior. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1971.
Harlow, H. F., & Griffin, G. Induced mental and social deficits in rhesus monkeys. In S. Osler & R. Cook (Eds.),The biosocial basis of mental retardation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1965.
Harris, R. EEG aspects of unclassified mental retardation. In J. B. Cavanagh (Ed.),The brain in unclassified mental retardation. London: Churchill Livingstone, 1972.
Hendrick, I.Facts and theories of psychoanalysis. New York: Knopf, 1950.
Hughes, J. Isolation of an endogenous compound from the brain with pharmacological properties similar to morphine.Brain Research 1975,88 295–308.
Hutchison, M., Kosterlitz, H. W., Leslie, F. M., Waterfield, A. A., & Terenius, L. Assessment in the guinea-pig ileum and mouse vas deferens of benzomorphans which have a strong antinociceptive activity but do not substitute for morphine in the dependent monkey.British Journal of Pharmacology 1975,55 541–546.
Kastenbaum, R., & Mishara, B. L. Premature death and self-injurious behavior in old age.Geriatrics 1971,26 71–81.
Kaufman, M. E., & Levitt, H. A study of three stereotyped behaviors in institutionalized mental defectives.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1965,69 467–473.
Klawans, H. L., & Margolin, D. I. Amphetamine-induced dopaminergic hypersensitivity in guinea pigs.Archives of General Psychiatry 1975,32 725–732.
Kluver, H., & Bucy, P. C. Preliminary analysis of functions of the temporal lobe in monkeys.Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry 1939,42 979–1000.
Korten, J. J., Van Dorp, A., Hustinx, Th. W. J., Scheres, J. M. J., & Rutten, F. J. Self-mutilation in a case of 49, XXXXY chromosomal constitution.Journal of Mental Deficiency Research 1975,19 63–71.
Krsiak, M., & Jankir, I. The development of aggressive behavior in mice by isolation. In S. Garattini & E. B. Sigg (Eds.),Aggressive behaviour. New York: Wiley, 1969.
Lammers, A. J. J. C., & van Rossum, J. M. Bizarre social behaviour in rats induced by a combination of peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor and dopa.European Journal of Pharmacology 1968,5 103.
Landwirth, J. Sensory radicular neuropathy and retinis pigmentosa.Pediatrics 1964,34 519–522.
Lesch, M., & Nyhan, W. L. A familial disorder of uric acid metabolism and central nervous system function.American Journal of Medicine 1964,36 561.
Lester, D. Self-mutilating behavior.Psychological Bulletin 1972,78 119–128.
Lourie, R. S. The role of rhythmic patterns in childhood.American Journal of Psychiatry 1949,105 653–660.
Lovaas, O. I., Freitag, G., Gold, V. J., & Kassorla, I. C. Experimental studies of child schizophrenia: An analysis of self-destructive behavior.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 1965,2 67–84.
Lovaas, O. I., & Simmons, J. Q. Manipulation of self-destruction in three retarded children.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 1969,2 143–157.
Lucero, W. J., Frieman, J., Spoering, K., & Fehrenbacher, J. Comparison of three procedures in reducing self-injurious behavior.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1976,80 548–554.
Mason, W. A. Early social deprivation in non-human primates: Implications for human behavior. In D. C. Glass (Ed.),Environmental influences. New York: Rockefeller University Press, 1968.
Mason, W. A., & Sponholz, R. R. Behavior of rhesus monkeys raised in isolation.Journal of Psychiatric Research 1963,1 299–306.
Masserman, J. H.Principles of dynamic psychiatry. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 1961.
McMurray, G. A. Theories of pain and congenital universal insensitivity to pain.Canadian Journal of Psychology 1975,29 302–315.
Measel, C. J., & Alfieri, P. A. Treatment of self-injurious behavior by a combination of rein-forcement for incompatible behavior and overcorrection.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1976,81 147–153.
Melzack, R., & Scott, T. H. The effects of early experience on the response to pain.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology 1957,50 155–161.
Melzack, R., & Wall, P. D. Gate control theory of pain. In A. Soulairac, J. Cahn, & J. Charpentier (Eds.),Pain. New York: Academic Press, 1968.
Menninger, K.Man against himself. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1938.
Muttar, A. K., Peck, D., Whitlow, D., & Fraser, W. Reversal of a severe case of self-mutilation.Journal of Mental Deficiency Research 1975,19 3–9.
Myers, D. V. Extinction, DRO, and response-cost procedures for eliminating self-injurious behavior: A case study.Behaviour Research and Therapy 1975,13 189–191.
O'Connor, N. Brain injury and mental subnormality. In J. V. Cavanagh (Ed.),The brain in unclassified mental retardation. London: Churchill & Livingstone, 1972.
Parker, C. E., Mavalwala, J., Weise, P., Koch, R., Hatashita, A. & Cibilich, S. The 47XYY syndrome in a boy with behavior problems and mental retardation.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1970,74 660–665.
Paul, H. A., & Miller, J. H. Reduction of extreme deviant behaviors in a severely retarded girl.The Training School Bulletin 1971,67 158–163.
Peters, J. M. Caffeine induced hemorrhagic automutilation.Archives Internationales de Pharmacodynamie et de Thérapie 1967,169 139–146.
Peterson, R., & Peterson, L. The use of positive reinforcement in the control of self-destructive behavior in a retarded boy.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 1968,6 351–360.
Pomerantz, B. Specific nociceptive fibers projecting from spinal cord neurons to the brain: A possible pathway for pain.Brain Research 1973,50 447–451.
Pourier, L. J., Bouvier, G., Olivier, A., & Boucher, R. Subcortical structures related to pain. In A. Soulairac, J. Cahn, & J. Charpentier (Eds.),Pain. New York: Academic Press, 1968.
Randrup, A., & Munkvad, I. Behavioural stereotypies induced by pharmacological agents.Pharmakopsychiatrie 1968,1 18–24.
Randrup, A., & Munkvad, I. Relation of brain catecholamines to aggression and other forms of behavioral excitation. In S. Garattini & E. B. Sigg (Eds.),Aggressive behaviour. New York: Wiley, 1969.
Randrup, A., & Munkvad, I. Pharmacology and physiology of stereotyped behavior.Journal of Psychiatric Research 1974,11 1–10.
Razzak, A., Fujiwara, M., & Ueki, S. Automutilation induced by clonidine in mice.European Journal of Pharmacology 1975,30 356–359.
Rimland, B.Infantile autism. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1964.
Risley, T. R. The effects and side-effects of punishing the autistic behaviors of a deviant child.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 1968,1 21–34.
Romanczyk, R. G., & Goren, E. R. Severe self-injurious behavior: The problem of clinical control.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1975,43 730–739.
Ross, R. R., Meichenbaum, D. H., & Humphrey, C. Treatment of nocturnal head-banging by behavior modification techniques: A case report.Behaviour Research and Therapy 1971,9 151–154.
Schaeffer, H. H. Self-injurious behavior: Shaping “head-banging” in monkeys.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 1970,3 111–116.
Schildkraut, J. J., & Kety, S. S. Biogenic amines and emotion.Science 1967,156 21–30.
Scott, J. P. Agonistic behavior of mice and rats: A review.American Zoologist 1966,6 683–701.
Segal, D. S. Behavioral characterization ofd- andl-amphetamine: Neurochemical implications.Science 1975,190 475–477.
Seiden, R. H. Campus tragedy: A story of student suicide.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 1966,71 389–399.
Selye, H.The stress of life. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1956.
Shentoub, S. A., & Soulairac, A. L'enfant automutilateur.Psychiatrie de L'Enfant 1961,3 199.
Shodell, M. J., & Reiter, H. H. Self-mutilative behavior in verbal and non-verbal schizophrenic children.Archives of General Psychiatry 1968,19 453.
Smeets, P. M. Withdrawal of social reinforcers as a means of controlling rumination and regurgitation in a profoundly retarded person.The Training School Bulletin 1970,67 158–163.
Smolev, S. R. Use of operant techniques for the modification of self-injurious behavior.American Journal of Mental Deficiency 1971,76 295–305.
Soulairac, A., Cahn, J., & Charpentier, J.Pain. New York: Academic Press, 1968.
Soumi, S. J., Harlow, H. F., & Kimball, S. D. Behavioral effects of prolonged partial isolation in the rhesus monkey.Psychological Reports 1971,29 1171–1177.
Spitz, R. Anaclitic depression.Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 1946,2 313–342.
Stanley, S. M. A theory of evolution above the species level.Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 1975,72 646–650.
Stengel, E.Suicide and attempted suicide. Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1973.
Stretch, R., Orloff, E. R., & Dalrymple, S. D. Maintenance of responding by fixed-interval schedules of electric shock presentation in squirrel monkeys.Science 1968,162 583–586.
Stubbs, D. A., & Silverman, P. J. Second-order schedules: Brief shock at the completion of each component.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 1972,17 201–212.
Tate, B. G., & Baroff, G. S. Aversive control of self-injurious behavior in a psychotic boy.Behaviour Research and Therapy 1966,4 281–287.
Tinkelpaugh, O. L. Self-mutilation in the male Macacus monkey.Journal of Mammalogy 1928,9 293–300.
Ulrich, R. E., & Azrin, N. H. Reflexive fighting in response to aversive stimulation.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 1962,5 511–520.
van Velzen, W. J. Autoplexy or self-destructive behaviour in mental retardation. In D. A. A. Primrose (Ed.),Proceedings of the Third Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency. Warsaw: Polish Medical Publishers, 1975.
Weil-Maherbe, H. The biochemistry of affective disorders. In A. Lathja (Ed.),Handbook of neurochemistry (Vol. 7). New York: Plenum Press, 1972.
Welch, B. L., & Welch, A. S. Aggression and the biogenic amine neurohumors. In S. Garattini & E. B. Sigg (Eds.),Aggressive behaviour. New York: Wiley, 1969.
Wiens, J. A. On group selection and Wynne-Edwards' hypothesis. In I. A. McLaren (Ed.),Natural regulation of animal populations. New York: Atherton Press, 1971.
Wilson, E. O.Sociobiology. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press, 1975.
Wolf, M., Risley, T., & Mees, H. Application of operant conditioning procedures to the behavior problems of an autistic child.Behaviour Research and Therapy 1964,1 305–312.
Wright, S. Clarification of the factors in evolution.Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology 1955,20 16–24.
Wynne-Edwards, V. C.Animal dispersion in relation to social behaviour. New York: Hafner, 1962.
Wynne-Edwards, V. C. Self-regulating systems in populations of animals. In I. A. McLaren (Ed.),Natural regulation of animal populations. New York: Atherton Press, 1971.
Yaroshevsky, F. Self-mutilation in Soviet prisons.Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal 1975,20 443–446.
Yerkes, R. M.Almost human. New York: Century, 1925.
Yerkes, R. M., & Yerkes, A. W.The great apes: A study of anthropoid life. London: Oxford University Press, 1929.
Yuwiler, A. Stress. In A. Lathja (Ed.),Handbook of neurochemistry (Vol. 6). New York: Plenum Press, 1971.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Appreciation is extended to Hymie Anisman, Kees Vanden Heuval, Jerry Cavallaro, Graham Baldwin, and Jennifer deCatanzaro for critical comments on an earlier version of this manuscript and invaluable discussion.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
deCatanzaro, D.A. Self-injurious behavior a biological analysis. Motiv Emot 2, 45–65 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992731
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992731