An empirically developed infant and preschool reinforcement survey was completed by 35 parents and 21 children. Test-retest coefficients were computed on these data after a one-week interval. The development of the survey, as well as its usefulness for school psychologists, is described. Survey is appended. (Author)

Process and outcome of a smoking cessation program using behavior therapy along (BT) or behavior therapy plus the nicotine patch (BTP) was studied in 64 participants. Abstinence was significantly higher for the BTP group from the end of behavioral treatment (79% vs. 63%) through the three-month follow-up, with the effects weakening at the six- and…

A home-based contingency management program, consisting of diet modification, laxatives, correction for soiling accidents, stimulus control training, and positive reinforcement, was implemented for treatment of a 4-year-old encopretic male. The findings provide evidence supporting the effectiveness of dietary modification combined with behavior…

This response to a paper by Guess and Carr (EC 602 212) on stereotypy and self-injurious behavior in the disabled focuses on (1) potentially misleading statements that may discourage practitioners from operant approaches to stereotypy and self-injury, and (2) strengths and weaknesses of the model compared to existing operant models. (DB)

Five adolescents with autism, 5 control participants, and 4 child controls received rewards for varying their sequences of responses while playing a computer game. In preceding and following phases, rewards were provided at approximately the same rate but were independent of variability. When reinforced, variability increased significantly in all…

Three experiments examined the effects of physical context changes and multiple extinction contexts on the renewal of conditioned suppression in humans. A conditioned suppression task used an undesirable event as the unconditional stimulus (US). One conditional stimulus (CS+) predicted the occurrence of the US and another (CS-) predicted US…

In a previous issue of "The Behavior Analyst," the authors discussed the ambiguities that surround the distinction between positive and negative reinforcement. Seven distinguished behavior analysts commented on their article. The authors believe that this dialogue represented a constructive step toward clarification of an important concept within…

INTENDED FOR BOTH THE COLLEGE STUDENT AND THE PROFESSIONAL SPEECH PATHOLOGIST, THE BOOK PRESENTS CURRENT LEARNING THEORIES CONCERNING STUTTERING, DATA IMPORTANT TO THE THEORIES, AND A 2-PROCESS THEORY OF LEARNING FOR THEORETICAL INTEGRATION OF THE DATA ON STUTTERING AND FOR THERAPEUTIC MODIFICATION. INFORMATION PRESENTED ABOUT BEHAVIORISTIC…

This review of the research literature focuses on processes that Cautela (1972a) has called covert conditioning and Mahoney, Thoresen, and Danaher (1972) have called covert behavior modification. Both of these terms refer to processes for changing behavior through imaginal responses. Two general strategies have been employed. One has been to…

A series of three experiments was conducted with three severely retarded children to investigate the vocalization-producing potential of two antecedent conditions: adult talk (commonly cited antecedent) and adult silence. (Author/CL)

Comments on article by Ray E. Hosford, in same issue. Stresses his feeling that Hosford's total presentation was imbalanced in direction of overemphasis on modeling. (Author/CJ)

Describes the rationale, methodology, and scope of a new form of psychotherapy, Verbal Satiation Therapy, based on assumption that language symbols stand for real objects and events. Verbal symbols may produce emotional responses normally associated with the objects themselves. Verbal Satiation Therapy attempts to reduce the emotional component of…

Studies dealing with toilet training of severely/profoundly retarded persons are reviewed since the systematic operant approach of N. Azrin and R. Foxx in 1971. Replications are said to be few in number and equivocal in results, although modifications with retarded and nonretarded populations have produced informative and innovative approaches.…

This report describes the introductory psychology demonstration showing conditioned taste aversion in rats based on those animals' inability to distinguish between safe NaCl and toxic LiCl solutions. Test results showed the established phenomena of classical conditioning. Included is a discussion of the experiments relevance to behaviorist…