The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a classroom management strategy that uses an interdependent group-oriented contingency to promote prosocial behavior and decrease problem behavior. This meta-analysis synthesized single-case research (SCR) on the GBG across 21 studies, representing 1,580 students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. The TauU effect…

The notion of differentially reinforcing low rates of undesirable behavior (DRL) is examined. Further, the status of the full session DRL strategy as alternative to punishment is questioned in context of a strictly operant definition of punishment. A reexamination of the data from some studies reveals the possibility that Ss respond to said DRL…

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 article provides a selective review and integration of the behavioral literature on Pavlovian extinction. The first part reviews evidence that extinction does not destroy the original learning, but instead generates new learning that is especially context-dependent. The second part examines insights provided by research on several related…

This literature review on antecedents, behaviors, and consequences in the noncompliant behavior of people with mental retardation found that noncompliance is more likely when instructions are vague or task demands are too difficult and that noncompliance responds well to programs utilizing combinations of social and tangible rewards. (Author/JDD)

Research examining direct peer mediation is presented and evaluated. The experimental studies reviewed are divided into three major areas: (1) peers as tutors; (2) peers as reinforcing agents; and (3) peers as facilitators of generalization. Conclusions, clinical applications, and future directions follow. (Author/CMG)

The implications of current theories of intrinsic motivation for educational practices for mildly handicapped learners are reviewed. The interaction of classroom demand environments, the effects of teacher reward and punishment, and individual differences in intrinsic motivation are discussed in relation to behavioral effectiveness and to academic…

This review of recent studies on prevention of drug and alcohol abuse among adolescents analyzes components of various preventive programs including those emphasizing knowledge, attitude modification, and remediation of skill deficits to improve ability to resist peer pressures. Missing in most programs is direct manipulation of positive or…

This paper reviews research on observational learning, including model characteristics and observers' responses, vicarious reinforcement as implicit punishment, vicarious effects on students with problem behavior, observers' other characteristics and vicarious effects, and aggression and vicarious processes. Regular class placement of students…

This paper examines the functions of challenging behavior in individuals with mental retardation, methods for determining the function of a particular behavior, strategies for implementing initial communicative functions that compete with challenging behavior, and procedures that specifically address attention-motivated and…

The use of reinforcement to reduce inappropriate behaviors of mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed students may involve the following procedures: differential reinforcement of low rates of responding (DRL), the differential reinforcement of response omission (DRO), and the differential reinforcement of incompatible (DRI) or alternative…

Reviews and evaluates the current research on the use of home-based reinforcement programs to modify both disruptive and academic behaviors in the classroom. (Author/MP)

Relationships between change agent performance and outcome success within the context of group behavioral programs are identified. The evaluation of either the ultimate effectiveness, or the specific change processes in a group program often requires assessing the behavior of the change agents, as well as that of the target population. Five design…

A review of theoretical and experimental literature on school health education indicates that most programs have focused on health knowledge despite conflicting information on the impact of knowledge based programs on health behaviors. Needed are interventions that include environmental engineering to support health behaviors and use of…

The literature on symbolic forms of communication was reviewed, and an experimental program was designed to teach a single set of vocabulary to a group of four institutionalized profoundly retarded blind/mute adults through the use of gestures. Literature about deaf/blind persons suggested the use of coactive movement techniques and facilitation…