Study supported by grants from the Ontario Mental Health Foundation (42), the National Institute of Health Service (HD-01456-02), the Defense Research Board of Canada (9401-24), and the National Research Council of Canada (APA-94).

THE PRESCHOOL IS A COMMUNITY OF REINFORCEMENT CONTINGENCIES WHICH WILL SHAPE AND MAINTAIN AN INCREASING REPERTOIRE OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND WILL PUT THAT BEHAVIOR UNDER THE CONTROL OF PEERS. THIS STATEMENT WAS DEMONSTRATED IN A PROGRAM WHICH ANALYZED PROBLEM BEHAVIORS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN. IN GENERAL, THE PROGRAM CONSISTED OF TWO PROCESSES--(1)…

In this study, a transfer of stimulus control procedure was used to establish generalized verb-noun instruction-following skills in two severely retarded boys. (Author/JH)

Two children (ages 10 and 12) with severe mental retardation were trained to make the same response when presented with 2 initially unrelated stimuli and then trained to make a new response when presented with 1 of those stimuli. Children were then assessed on their response to the second stimulus. Results of the tests for the emergent…

Reviews studies involving noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) for the treatment of challenging behavior such as aggression, self-injury, and extreme tantrums in persons with developmental disabilities. A clinical guide for implementation is delineated. Among the advantages of NCR is ease of implementation. NCR appears particularly relevant for…

This paper provides the teacher with a brief introduction to the principles of behavior modification. Major areas of concern deal with the history of behavior modification, implications for the concept of mental health, the teacher's role, the difference between behavior modification and other forms of control, reinforcement, the role of…

This study analyzed the mental distractions of students while reading a text. Ss were asked to press a switch to record mental distractions as they occurred, and a treatment was designed to attempt to reduce the number of distractions. The hypothesis related to the treatment effect was that students given explicit training to reduce distractions…

This book is a teacher's guide for dealing with and modifying childrens' behavior. Chapter one discusses behavior and how it is strengthened, weakened, or shaped by consequences of the behavior (rewarding, ignoring, punishing). Chapters two and three present techniques which can be used to strengthen desirable behaviors and weaken undesirable…

This study investigated the moderating effects of previously conditioned, stable behavior characteristics on subsequent behavior resulting from a different set of reinforcement contingencies. The college students, who were the study subjects, were required to perform the task of solving anagrams under various modes of conditioning moderated by…

Presents summaries and opposing views of six of B. F. Skinner's major tenets of behavioristic psychology. Relates conflicting positions on issues as environmental determination, problem solving techniques, cultural reinforcement, and mental processing. (ML)

This paper introduces seven principles of learning, enduring over the last five centuries of psychological thought, to discuss the evolution of the "Biophyche" (the brain in action) in the development of humans and other large organisms. It describes the conditioning theories of Darwin, Pavlov, and Thorndike and critically reviews the…

Modern behavioral scientists have emphasized the importance of environmental influences in human behavior. If the basis for behavior development and change rests within the environment, an understanding and use of the methods of control by change agents, especially teachers, can result in more prosocial behavior. Planned reinforcement could…

This paper provides some practical as well as theoretical uses of group desensitization. It is hoped that the reader will gain some knowledge as to how to apply this technique in a variety of situations as well as with a number of variations. Although some problems of application have been mentioned, the authors intend that the therapist feel a…

Planning, funding and operating anti-poverty programs require skilled community organizers. Training organizers deals with problems of how to motivate others and what tactics should be used when difficulty is encountered. Two approaches to these problems determined by images of 20th Century Man have been employed: (1) rational economic man who…