Mand training is often a primary focus in early language instruction and typically includes mands that are positively reinforced. However, mands maintained by negative reinforcement are also important skills to teach. These include mands to escape aversive demands or unwanted items. Another type of negatively reinforced mand important to teach…

Action-outcome contingencies can be learnt either by active trial-and-error, or vicariously, by observing the outcomes of actions performed by others. The extant literature is ambiguous as to which of these modes of learning is more effective, as controlled comparisons of operant and observational learning are rare. Here, we contrasted human…

The current study examined the effects of bite placement with a flipped versus upright spoon on expulsion and mouth clean (product measure of swallowing) in the treatment of 3 children diagnosed with a pediatric feeding disorder and oral-motor deficits. For all 3 participants, extinction in the form of nonremoval of the spoon led to improvements…

Previous research has shown that problem behavior maintained by social-negative reinforcement can be treated without escape extinction by enhancing the quality of positive reinforcement for an appropriate alternative response such as compliance. By contrast, negative reinforcement (escape) for compliance generally has been ineffective in the…

The current study investigates the comparative effects of sensory-integration therapy and behavioral interventions on rates of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in a 9-year-old boy with diagnosis of autism. A functional analysis was conducted to identify the variables maintaining the self-injurious behavior. This analysis demonstrated that SIB was…

The major purpose of the study was to compare the frequency and effectiveness of positive and negative reinforcement practices deployed by teachers in boys' and girls' secondary schools in urban and rural areas. It was hypothesized that there would be no difference in use of reward and punishment by teachers in secondary schools in urban and rural…

The Gambling Functional Assessment (GFA; Dixon & Johnson, 2007) is a 20-item self-report inventory identifying four potential consequences maintaining gambling behavior. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are performed for two large, nonclinical samples of university undergraduates. For the exploratory analysis, the optimal model…

The relation of mood and stress to binge eating and vomiting in the natural environments of patients with bulimia nervosa (BN) was examined using real-time data collection. Women (n = 131; mean age = 25.3 years) with BN carried a palmtop computer for 2 weeks and completed ratings of positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), anger/hostility (AH),…

The study investigates the development of English multiword negation, in particular the negation of zero marked verbs (e.g. "no sleep", "not see", "can't reach") from a usage-based perspective. The data was taken from a dense database consisting of the speech of an English-speaking child (Brian) aged 2;3-3;4 (MLU 2.05-3.1) and his mother. The…

The present study examined the linkage between pre-adolescent children's depressive symptoms and their preferences for receiving positive vs. negative feedback subsequent to being faced with an experimentally manipulated peer evaluation outcome in real time. Participants (n = 142) ages 10 to 13, played a computer contest based on the television…

Compared rapid smoking (overt aversion), covert sensitization (symbolic aversion), and a combination of the two in a self-punishment procedure for eliminating cigarette smoking. Training sessions were spaced over a one-month period. The overt group achieved significantly greater reduction than the symbolic group. The combined group did not differ…

In a study of aversive control of smoking behavior, subjects were randomly assigned to rapid smoking, excessive smoking, or control conditions. Overall, there was a statistically reliable treatment effect, according to measures of percentage reductions in smoking and subjects maintaining total abstinence. However, this treatment effect had…

The ability of aversive conditioning and contingency management to control smoking was compared. Although contingency management was more effective in the short run, at a six-month follow-up treatment effects were no longer evident. (SE)

AN EXPERIMENT TO COMPARE SPACED NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT, MASSED NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT, AND POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN AUTOMATED TEACHING IS DESCRIBED. THREE GROUPS OF COLLEGE FRESHMEN WERE USED IN THE STUDY. EACH GROUP WAS GIVEN INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL CONTAINING AMBIGUOUS IMFORMATION INTERSPERSED AMONG MEANINGFUL INFORMATION. ONE GROUP RECEIVED A…

This study investigates the relationship between social-class factors and patterns of reinforcement used by preschool children when instructing younger peers. It was hypothesized that middle class Caucasian children would spontaneously use more positive reinforcements and lower class children more negative reinforcements when interacting with…