This paper analyzes development of group structure in terms of the stimulus-sampling perspective. Learning is the continual sampling of possibilities, with those reinforced possibilities increasing in probability of occurance. This contingency learning approach is tested experimentally. (NG)

Acting on the premise that she was teaching her son a task, each of 30 mothers selected consequences for her child's errors. In actuality, feedback to the mother regarding her son's performance was experimentally manipulated. Results showed that differential conditioning of both high and low maternal punitiveness could be achieved by using the…

Recent investigations of marital interaction have concentrated on the process of communication while discussing issues of conflict within the relationship. Few studies have been designed to assess emotional communication among married couples. To determine emotional interaction by examining the overall distribution and sequencing of emotional…

The relationship of family variables to locus of control, under the hypothesis that a larger and more cohesive family provides greater reinforcement for the elderly person's actions was investigated. Elderly persons (N=200) aged 60-90 were interviewed at home and given Rotter's I-E scale. In a regression analysis, after removing effects of age and…

Ninety-six second and third grade children were exposed to one of six types of videotaped models. Children witnessed an adult female practice either charitable or selfish behavior. One-third of the subjects in each group heard the model exhort either charity or greed or verbalize normatively neutral material. Following this exposure, half the…

This paper presents a description of the four stages of the consultation process, an examination of the interviewing behaviors used by the consultant to achieve his goals, and a discussion of the purpose of consultation. The four stages of consultation include problem identification, problem analysis, intervention, and evaluation. The interviewing…

Provides additional evidence to work by Rosenthal and others which has indicated that teacher-experimenter experiences are fulfilled in student-subject performance. (MB)

This paper briefly reviews studies pertaining to the imitation of facial gestures in early infancy. It is suggested that imitation provides for the initiation of a reciprocal exchange between mother and infant, but does not sustain such an interaction, since this requires a continually varied and changing pattern of gestures. Thus there is an…

Patterns of teacher and student verbal behavior within a framework of reinforcement theory were analyzed through the use of a modified form of the Observation Schedule and Record 4V (OScAR). The study examined the extent to which the rewarding teacher's classroom discourse served as a model for the verbal style of a student among his peers. Data…

In this book, the principles of behavior modification are presented as a set of guidelines for identifying recurrent behavior patterns and are then applied as techniques to change various undesirable behaviors. Progressively more complex steps toward behavior modification and its social influence are cited and illustrated in chapters which deal…