Behaviour modification refers to the techniques used to try and decrease or increase a particular type of behaviour or reaction. This might sound very technical, but it is used very frequently by all of us. Parents use this to teach their children right from wrong. Therapists use it to promote healthy behaviours in their patients. The purpose…

Specific phobias are among the most common anxiety disorders, especially in children. Unfortunately, a paucity of literature exists regarding the treatment of specific phobia in young children, despite the knowledge that traditional techniques (i.e., cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT]) may not be practical. Therefore, the purpose of this article…

Functional assessment has become a major feature of learning-based research. A critical element of the majority of these studies includes not only methods and procedures to identify the cause of the challenging behavior, but to establish replacement treatment methods. By far the most common intervention in the 176 studies we reviewed was…

What can CBT therapists do when interpersonal issues are pertinent to therapeutic change and there is a deficit of CBT literature offering clinicians' guidance on how to address this as part of the therapy process? Do we say "clients are resistant?", "Not ready for change?", or "there is too much secondary gain?" As therapists we may not be…

Skin-picking is a type of self-injurious behavior involving the pulling, scratching, lancing, digging, or gouging of one's own body. It is associated with social impairment, and increased medical and mental health concerns. While there are several reports showing that skin-picking is common in individuals with developmental disabilities, knowledge…

Traditional methods of diagnosis are of little therapeutic use when diagnostic criteria are based upon topographical rather than functional aspects of behavior. Also, this sentence in the original seemed rather awkward and a bit unclear. In contrast to this, several authors have put forward experience avoidance disorders as an alternative which…

A functional analysis for a boy with Down syndrome and autism suggested that vocal stereotypy was maintained by automatic reinforcement. The analysis also showed that instructions and noncontingent attention suppressed vocal stereotypy. A treatment package consisting of noncontingent attention, contingent demands, and response cost effectively…

Examines whether therapist contact reinforces weight loss behaviors. Overweight clients (N=45) were assigned to conditions in which therapist contact was or was not contingent on weight loss. Weight loss was not affected by contingency, but clients who were seen contingent on not losing weight had the poorest results overall. (JAC)

Reviews individual and group studies describing the application of behavior therapy techniques to the management of 41 electively mute children. Updates previous reviews of treatment techniques, examines criteria influencing application of specific techniques to individual children, and evaluates evidence as to relative effectiveness of different…

Two current approaches to the conceptualization and treatment of depression have received considerable attention from the scientific community. The cognitive approach (Beck) posits that depression derives from negatively distorted beliefs that must be challenged in the context of cognitive therapy until they are replaced with positive and…

Studied the use of a social learning approach to reduce the unpopularity of an 11-year-old girl. Used a multiple baseline design to successively implement reinforcement contingencies on each class of social skill. Substantial improvements in performance were noted. Sociometric ratings of popularity by others improved after intervention. (Author/RC)

The covert modeling group was somewhat more improved than the cognitive restructuring group. Results suggest that cognitive restructuring may work by mechanisms of covert rehearsal and response-relevant covert positive reinforcement. (Author)

In terms of the criterion measure, the social reinforcement group differed significantly from the teacher expectation and the control group. Differences in mean response gains between Premack and social reinforcement groups approached significance with the greatest changes in client behavior favoring the social reinforcement group. (Author)

Compared effects of token reinforcement, cognitive behavior modification, and direct instruction on learning-disabled elementary school students' mathematics skills. Treatment was provided to 94 students for 4 weeks in daily 1-hour sessions. Significant differential gain between treatment and direct instruction groups in achievement test scores…

Although eating is considered an automatic physiologic process, many children experience feeding difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for assessment, treatment and prevention of feeding difficulties in children. Identification and treatment of any factors actively interfering with feeding success is a critical…