This paper reports an experiment which demonstrates that punishment of an act at its initiation is more effective than punishment at its completion in producing internalized suppression of the act. The experiment, which is carried out with 9-and 10-yr-old children, is used to support a theoretical analysis of internalized suppression in terms of 2 sequential acquisition processes. The 1st process is the attachment of anxiety to the intrinsic cues provided by either the behavioral or cognitive stimulus correlates of an incipient transgression. The 2nd is the attachment of anxiety reduction to the intrinsic correlates of suppression. The experimental findings are also extended to suggest that a number of features of naturalistic socialization, other than timing of punishment, affect internalized suppression through their impact on:(a) the temporal locus and intensity of the anxiety that motivates suppression and (b) the reinforcement of the suppression itself. The verbal mediation of socializing agents is singled out as the most significant of these features.(32 ref.)(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)