This article presents two investigations of the motivational inversion hypothesis derived from the motivation-hygiene theory. The major hypothesis of this article is that the higher the degree of mental disorder, the higher the degree of motivational inversion. (Author/EK)

Rotter's Index of generalized expectancies for the internal or external control of reinforcement has been shown to predict successfully a variety of behaviors. An important future use of this scale may be the examination of the predictive power of individual items rather than generalized expectancies. (EK)

The present findings suggest that experience in situations which a subject believes reflect his own control over events can increase the likelihood of his believing that he has control over reinforcements. (Author)

Independent expectancies were that alcohol enhances social and physical pleasure, enhances sexual performance and experience, increases power and aggression, increases social assertiveness, and reduces tension. More global factors were related to light consumption. Increased expectation of sexual and aggressive behavior was found in heavier…

Ex-smokers (N = 61) who had stopped smoking as part of a televised "clinic" were assigned to either a tape-reinforcement or nonreinforcement condition and were followed up a month later. A self-regulated reward system can be an extremely cost-effective tool in preventing short-term recidivism among neophyte ex-smokers. (Author)

Subjects were 18 mothers and their clinic-referred children. A stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that two maternal behaviors, beta commands and total rewards, displayed in the clinic were the best predictors of child compliance in the home. (Author)

Undergraduates, trained to discriminate understanding from nonunderstanding statements, verbally reinforced each statement they felt to be understanding during counselor interviews. Ratings indicated that beginning counselors had increased their understanding statements, suggesting that such statements can be a function of the number of…

Compared the reinforcement expectancies of adult alcoholics with beliefs of men and women in alcohol treatment programs, hospitalized medical patients, and college students through the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ). Results indicated the previously defined AEQ beliefs apply to the alcoholic population and these populations significantly…

The reinforcers that are most potent in affecting the day-to-day satisfaction levels of married couples differ according to the level of distress. Marital distress is characterized by a tendency to react strongly to the delivery of punishers and to respond in kind. (Author)

The present study explored a method of altering the reinforcing properties of the verbal event good in chronic, process, nonparanoid schizophrenics. When good was repeatedly paired with the termination of censure in the reaction time task, it became an effective reinforcer on a subsequent verbal conditioning task. (Author)

This study examines the Rotter Internal-External locus of control Scale to determine if it differentiates people according to the degree of control they feel they have over behavior. The results support Rotter's claim that reinforcement value has to be taken into consideration in Locus of Control studies. (EJT)

A covert self-instructional program was used to reduce the frequency of a hospitalized chronic schizophrenic's inappropriate verbalizations. A marked reduction in the frequency of the target behavior accompanied the treatment intervention, and improved verbal behavior was directly responsible for the decision to discharge the subject from the…

A 9-year-old impulsive boy was treated with a combination of verbal self-instructions and response cost. The program was sequentially applied to inappropriate "switches" in each of three target behaviors (topics, games, rules) according to a multiple baseline design. Positive change in all of the target behaviors was evident at posttreatment.…