Many individuals who engage in self‐injurious behavior (SIB) also exhibit self‐restraint. We compared rates of SIB exhibited by a 32‐year‐old woman diagnosed with profound retardation across conditions in which access to restraint was (a) continuously available, (b) presented as a consequence for SIB, or (c) unavailable. Rates of SIB increased when access to restraint was contingent upon SIB and decreased when restraint was unavailable, suggesting that self‐restraint functioned as positive reinforcemen