B. F. Skinner is the most eminent psychologist of the twentieth century, and it is no exaggeration to say that his discovery of operant learning (conditioning) has influenced the broader field of psychology, as well as other disciplines, including education, neuroscience, and philosophy. Skinner's discovery and elucidation of operant learning has…

Certain tasks are more likely to be solved by groups than by individuals, even when the individuals are highly skilled at aspects of the task. These are tasks such as filling out income tax forms or performing surgical operations, for which inputs from several individuals who have complementary domains of knowledge and skill are needed. I refer to…

Social-emotional competence is a critical factor to target with universal preventive interventions that are conducted in schools because the construct (a) associates with social, behavioral, and academic outcomes that are important for healthy development; (b) predicts important life outcomes in adulthood; (c) can be improved with feasible and…

The current study prospectively examined trajectories of change in symptoms of irritability, hyperactivity, and social withdrawal, as well as predictors of such behaviors, for ages 9-18 years for youths with autism spectrum disorder and a comparison group with nonspectrum developmental delays. Children with more severe core features of autism had…

This study of 61 preschool children used an observational, longitudinal design to examine the degree to which social dominance relationships account for time-related change in rates of aggression and affiliation across a school year. Specific hypotheses reflected the view that, over time, behavioral function should change in accord with the…

Programs for parents of young children hold considerable promise for improving children's life-course trajectories and for reducing health and development problems and associated costs to government and society. To date, this promise has not been achieved. Fulfilling the potential of parenting interventions will require substantial improvements in…

The final report of the first year (1979-1980) of Project First Chance Interactive Outreach Model Program reviews outreach activities and gives detailed information on child progress data from the model demonstration site serving 10 preschool handicapped children. Indicators of project impact are reported in the areas of product development and…

Assessed the effects of participation in a Big Sisters' Program. The first part consisted of interviews (N=20) with pairs of Big Sisters-Little Sisters. The second part evaluated program effectiveness experimentally. Findings indicated positive relationships between pairs, and improved behavior of experimental girls versus controls. (RC)

The Nurse-Parent Training Project, developed in cooperation with Children's Hospital of Buffalo (New York), was designed to provide developmental supportive care for premature infants, and to reduce stress while optimizing neurobehavioral development. A program was conducted to train nurses working in neonatal intensive care nurseries, to enable…

The study examined effectiveness of a team approach for two etiologically distinct groups of children (acquired brain injury, N=7; congenital brain injury, N=10). Results revealed significant pre-post gains for both groups. Significant team therapy effects were evident across four developmental domains and five behavioral processes. Progress was…

"Caring School Community[TM]" ("CSC") is a modified version of a program formerly known as the "Child Development Project." The program aims to promote core values, prosocial behavior, and a schoolwide feeling of community. The program consists of four elements originally developed for the "Child Development…