Contingency management programs for modifying aggression in children are strong methods of short-term behavior change in treatment settings but are less than successful when transferred to other settings. Future research should compare cognitive with noncognitive behavioral programs and test the effectiveness of cognitive and noncognitive…

The successful application of functional analysis to problem behavior suggests the need to examine: additional functional properties of behavior involving social avoidance, biological reinforcement, and respondent conditioning; the role of context (including social factors and biological factors); and the multidimensional character of assessment…

Functional assessment is redefining the standards for clinical interventions with problem behavior and reemphasizing the importance of basic behavioral mechanisms. It has shown the importance of complex patterns of behavioral control, functional assessment as an ongoing process, and the importance of attention to antecedent variables. Future…

This commentary summarizes methodological and conceptual issues in functional analysis methodologies and offers some suggestions for their resolution. Considered are increasing complexity, absence of contingencies during assessment, use of subtle manipulations, alternative assessment strategies, analysis of antecedent influences on behavior,…

The paper looks at philosophical, heuristic, and practical reasons why behavior management approaches have failed to positively impact on the lives of exceptional Black children. Critiqued are behavior modification techniques, contingency management strategies, suspensions, expulsions, and positive and negative reinforcement. Noted among the…

This article reviews the development of functional analysis in understanding behavior problems like self-injury and aggression and, more recently, school-based problems. Seen as particularly promising is current work on the analysis of setting events and analysis of dependent variables by considering the effects of intervention on response…

The author found it very satisfying to reread "Toward a technology of 'nonaversive' behavioral support," written in 1990 by Rob Horner and seven of his colleagues. Their predictions of the critical themes for advancing positive behavior support (PBS) ring true. Fifteen years have passed since the publication of this article, and much has happened…

This review of behavioral research on teaching individuals with profound multiple handicaps found that behavior change has resulted from contingency management interventions, but the behavior changes cannot be described as beneficially affecting the individuals' quality of life. Explanations for this are offered, and suggestions for future…

School discipline need not entail corporal punishment. It is not necessary to subject school children to a role model of aggressive behavior by their teachers and principals. Instead, education in Canada should reflect the most advanced state of research, knowledge, and moral development by using alternative forms of discipline. (JHZ)

Maintains that parents and physicians should adopt a tender love, rather than a tough love, approach when dealing with adolescents with behavior problems. The discussion is highlighted by a case study of a 15-year-old boy. (BB)