The paper presents guidelines for training staff to implement positive reductive procedures to decrease undesirable behaviors of their retarded students and clients. Considerations relevant to all reductive procedures are briefly discussed in the first portion of the paper, while guidelines indigenous to positive reductive procedures are discussed…

Basic ideas of reinforcement may be more easily applied in the classroom if three common teacher errors: noncontingent reinforcement, ambiguity of rules, and restriction of earnings, are avoided. (Author/SDH)

This article reviews general classes of variables which help to maintain aberrant behavior including attention seeking, sensory and perceptual consequences, and access to materials or activities. Suggestions for a methodology providing a comprehensive functional analysis are offered which include descriptive analysis, hypothesis forming,…

Ten papers contributed by school psychologists or university educators working with school psychology programs review psychological theory and research on behavioral strategies for psychological intervention. Following an overview on the effective use of behavior modification in the school, nine behavior change methods are examined in terms of…

Academic and behavior management techniques for school and home use with behavior disordered children are described. Among school management techniques identified is the Personal Intervention Paper, a chart on which the student tracks his/her problem behavior and receives a reward for reduction of occurrence. Home management techniques included…

Offers a six-step procedure for developing and implementing a response cost system for changing problem classroom behaviors of students with learning disabilities. Steps described are establishing classroom rules, rewarding compliance, selecting reinforcers, reducing noncompliance through response cost consequences, following through on…

The article reviewed research on professionals', consumers', and others' judgments of the restrictiveness, social acceptability, and estimated frequency of use of procedures to decrease problem behaviors of disabled persons. Most respondents agreed that more restrictive procedures should be used as a last resort and that less restrictive…

This manual presents a training methodology for use in changing pivotal behaviors of children with autism or other severe handicaps. Behaviors specifically addressed for their far ranging effects involve motivation and responsivity to multiple cues. Seven instructional points are detailed with both good and poor implementation examples. The manual…

Presented are some practical, ethical, and legal challenges to the token economy system in a critical look at behavior modification in classrooms. (Editor)

A behaviorally-oriented activities therapy program was designed and implemented with adolescents who manifested problems at school, at home, and with peers. Techniques employed included: contingency contracting, assertiveness training, relaxation training, and cognitive restructuring. (Author/KC)

The use of contingent ignoring to help reduce problems in the classroom has been advocated by behavioral psychologists, but in practice, teachers have found this procedure often is not successful. The potential mistakes are described. For each potential problem, a remedy is prescribed. (Author)

This paper reviews teaching strategies that may facilitate independent performance on the part of preschool children with disabilities. Among these are environmental arrangements (schedules, staff assignment, room arrangement); antecedent prompts (instructions, time, task); peer-mediated interventions; and consequent events. (Author/DB)

Offers three guidelines to aid teachers in selecting effective contingency management programs, based on degree of positiveness, effectiveness, and costs to teachers and parents. Describes how to use a simple home-based program, which resulted in successful reduction of mild classroom disruptive behavior. (JAC)

Three types of investigations are considered: systematic case studies, single-subject experiments, and group outcome studies. It is concluded that stimulant medication is more effective than behavior therapy in improving classroom and social behaviors, as well as attentional processes in hyperactive children. (SBH)

Observation of classroom coping behaviors of 1,066 K-12 students and of several hundred effective public school teachers provides discipline strategies for classroom management. Teachers apply one of seven treatment schedules after identifying a student's coping behavior. Tables show eight coping styles and abbreviated treatment schedules. (PB)