This study found that use of music as a reinforcer was highly effective in increasing productive and decreasing nonproductive behavior of 6 competitive swimmers (ages 12-16) during the dry-land portion of a practice session. Subjects rated the musical reinforcement favorably and elected to have the procedure continued. (Author/DB)

Two experiments analyzed the single-alternative form of the matching law as a description of student behavior. Four students (ages 8-10) exhibiting off-task behavior were exposed to variable-interval schedules of social reinforcement contingent on academic engagement. Results provided evidence that subject behavior was under control of the…

Off-task and disruptive behavior in two fifth graders decreased rapidly during an intervention in which, working in dyads, they served either as peer monitors or point earners. Peer-monitor and point-earner roles, when alternated on an every-other-day basis, were equally effective in reducing inappropriate behavior. (Author/JW)

A self-management intervention package was used with preschoolers with developmental delays. Self-assessment of performance resulted in increases in active engagement across all participants during training, but generalization to classrooms was sporadic and short-lived. When recruitment of teachers' contingent praise was added, treatment effects…

Prompting, positive and negative reinforcement, and a gradually extended reinforcement schedule were used with three autistic clients (two six-year-olds and one adolescent) to teach them to maintain on-task behaviors without constant supervision. Results indicated that appropriate behavior could be successfully maintained with only infrequent and…

A functional analysis involving antecedent events was conducted with four students identified as having behavior problems. Off-task behavior was measured while task difficulty and level of adult attention was manipulated during analog sessions. Results revealed higher rates of off-task behavior during difficult tasks and improved behavior when…

This study, with 4 parent-child dyads in which the children (ages 9 to 11) exhibited substantial homework problems, found that goal setting and contingency contracting produced significant improvements in children's homework accuracy. Two of the subjects showed substantial improvements in on-task behavior. Parents rated the procedures highly.…