Parental involvement in intervention can support intervention efficacy, improve generalization, and increase accessibility. The Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program is designed to teach 13 preschool life skills and prevent problem behavior. The current study explores the utility of the PLS program as delivered by parents. In Experiment 1, 6 parents…

Parent training is often a required component of effective treatment for a variety of common childhood problems. Although behavior analysts have developed several effective parent-training technologies, we know little about the contingencies that affect parent behavior. Child behavior is one source of control for parent behavior that likely…

Functional analyses identified children whose inappropriate mealtime behavior was maintained by escape and adult attention. Function-based extinction procedures were tested individually and in combination. Attention extinction alone did not result in decreases in inappropriate mealtime behavior or a significant increase in acceptance. By contrast,…

The choice-making behavior of 2 typically developing children who engaged in problem behavior maintained by negative reinforcement was evaluated within a concurrent-operants assessment that varied the quality of attention across free-play and demand conditions. The results demonstrated that it was possible to bias responding towards academic…

Observations of three parent-child dyads seeking help for severe interactional problems provided tentative support for the predictability hypothesis, which suggests that social interactions are most likely to function as aversive stimuli when delivered in unpredictable fashion by either party and that responses instrumental in reducing…

The daughter of Burrhus Frederic Skinner writes of her father's activities during the last few days of his life--his speech upon receipt of an award from the American Psychological Association, his work on research papers and books, interviews, and his final admission to the hospital where he died. (JDD)

A 9-year-old clinic-referred boy, his mother, and his teacher were observed in 38 home and 38 school sessions on the same days. Categories of the boy's oppositional behavior and the inappropriate social attention of his mother and teacher were graphed to visually inspect changes during baseline, a parent-training phase, a follow-up phase, and a…

The follow-up data reported a long-term (three to nine years out of treatment) evaluation of 40 children who were clients of the Regional Intervention Program (RIP) for disturbed students from 1969 to 1978. (Author)

A self-evaluation program was implemented at home with a disruptive boy (five years, 11 months old). The self-evaluation procedures typically resulted in increased compliant behavior and decreased inappropriate verbal behavior, although the effects generally weakened with time. (Author/SEW)

This article analyzes variables associated with adherence by parents to recommendations designed to solve common childhood problems and specific corresponding processes that are responsible for poor adherence. Adherence variables include establishing operations, stimulus generalization, response acquisition, and consequent events. (Contains…

Eighteen low-income, socially isolated mother-child dyads were referred for psychological help because of the children's oppositional behaviors and the mothers' aversive reactions to the children. Findings were taken to suggest that a mother's extrafamily social contacts may influence her child interaction patterns at home. (Author)

The behavior of four boys who were referred for oppositional, rule violating, and aggressive behaviors was assessed by direct observation and parent reports. Changing contract behavior to solitary toy play resulted in reduced oppositional behavior during the observation sessions, fewer reports from the parents of low-rate problem behaviors, and…

A communication program was implemented with the families of three adolescents with behavior problems. Skill teaching resulted in parent-adolescent dyads learning to use the skills in the teaching setting, but competent use of the skills in the home was not observed until an in-home family conference phase was implemented. (Author/JDD)