Emerging theory and evidence suggest that intergroup relations may stimulate malevolent creativity, but the intergroup foundations of malevolent creativity remain unexplored. Drawing from theories of intergroup conflict, we argue that malevolent creativity can be understood through the lens of parochial altruism, one's willingness to partake in…

Group contingencies are recognized as a potent intervention for addressing challenging student behavior in the classroom, with research reviews supporting the use of this intervention platform going back more than four decades. Over this time period, the field of education has increasingly emphasized the role of research evidence for informing…

We conducted a preliminary investigation of a randomized dependent group contingency to decrease disruptive behavior during hallway transitions. Two first-graders, identified by their classroom teacher, participated in this study. A multiple baseline across transitions was used to evaluate the effects of the randomized dependent group contingency…

At school, pupils often cooperate on common projects and must coordinate their different individual actions. However, grades are pervasively used even in cooperative situations, which make the pupils' differences in achievement and their relative rank salient and may reduce their inclination to work constructively with others. Thus, we…

Disruptive behavior in the classroom negatively affects all students' academic engagement, achievement, and behavior. Group contingencies have been proven effective in reducing disruptive behavior as part of behavior interventions in the classroom. The Good Behavior Game is a Tier 1 classwide intervention that utilizes an interdependent group…

A remarkable present-day phenomenon in rural areas in the Netherlands is that young people, mostly males, often meet in small groups in self-built or at least self-fitted out sheds or caravans ("keten"). At first glance, these "keten" seem to be substitutes for more official entertainment sites in the relatively sparsely…

A ten year-old boy exhibiting frequent off-task and disruptive behavior during small group math instruction was taught to use an iPod Touch for video modeling and self-monitoring purposes. A single-subject changing conditions (A-B-BC) design was used to investigate the differential effects of video modeling versus a combination of video modeling…

Two treatments, an individual behavior contract and group behavior games, were studied to determine if they reduced disruptive playground behavior. The 191 subjects were second- and fifth-grade students in two public schools. Results are discussed. (Author/MT)

Results of a case study designed to test the hypothesis that acting-out students would exhibit less disruptive behavior when grouped with "well-behaved" peers than when grouped with disruptive peers indicated that placement with well-behaved peers significantly reduced disruptive behavior, suggesting that grouping is an effective and nonintrusive…

There are Hispanics who reject their ethnicity. This process may be obvious or it may be subtle. The rationale for this behavior is that by rejecting "Hispanidad" and adapting linguistic styles, dressing habits, and other behavior patterns they become Americans, the more acceptable mainstream group. An Hispanic person does not need to stop being…

This study found that use of a dependent group evaluation system effectively decreased the group's inappropriate verbalizations and that the 9 students (ages 11-13) with disabilities had positive reactions to the system. The system involved delivering reinforcement based on an identified student's rating and congruence of the student's rating with…

A study investigated: (1) the effectiveness of a group contingency behavior modification strategy on behaviorally disordered students in a physical education class; (2) each student's response in relation to the group; and (3) the effects of age differences on results. The strategy increased time on task for both individuals and groups. (Author/PP)

This report presents findings from four studies of adolescent behavior in high schools. A basic assumption was that organization structure has strong effects on behavior. The authors concluded that the large comprehensive high school's organization structure with emphasis on teacher initiated action, routine batch processing, and reliance on…