Recent mandates related to the implementation of evidence-based practices for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require that autism professionals both understand and are able to implement practices based on the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA). The use of the term "applied behavior analysis" and its related concepts…

Recent studies have demonstrated that external rewards can affect intrinsic motivation to perform an activity. Money tends to decrease intrinsic motivation, whereas positive verbal reinforcements tend to increase intrinsic motivation. This paper presents evidence that negative feedback and threats of punishment also decrease intrinsic motivation.…

Article reviews evidence on the effects of contrast and matching, that these effects are related, and that both effects are reactions to the same independent variable. (Author/RK)

The major concern of the study was to determine what differences, if any, in independent reading-work behaviors were observed between baseline and experimental conditions using the Rules, Ignore, Praise technique with two seven year old children. During the reinforcement period children worked harder. Bibliography. (Author/AF)

The field of behavior analysis has not learned how to develop interventions that rely on positive reinforcement for all participants, including the normal adults who implement them. Thus, the field has not learned how to avoid evoking countercontrol. Establishment of collaborative relationships with the people targeted for help is suggested. (JDD)

The study found that concordance between a rule and a recent model's behavior was most effective in leading to acceptance of the rule, despite a tendency for the subject's to adopt lenient self-reinforcement criteria when given an opportunity to do so. (JB)

This article describes the use of the precise feedback and negative reinforcement to ameliorate problems at a community health center. Both procedures were successful in improving the performance (returning toys to their appropriate places) of undergraduate paraprofessionals involved in an educational program for disadvantaged children. The study…

A base rate of deviant behavior was obtained for the eight most disruptive children in a third grade adjustment class. In a token reinforcement program, the children received teacher's ratings, which were exchangeable for reinforcers such as candy and trinkets. With the introduction of the token reinforcement program, an abrupt reduction in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a behavior modification method for remediation of reading skills with ten primary grade students enrolled in a sixteen week program. Ten elementary school teachers enrolled in a graduate diagnostic and remedial reading course received eight hours of instruction, including the collection…

The use of operant techniques in the classroom, especially with slow learners, was investigated, and several types of reinforcement were compared. Subjects were 129 fourth graders enrolled in a middle school in a disadvantaged rural Florida community. The subjects were stratified by race, sex, and homeroom and were randomly assigned to one of five…

This book explores some of the basic principles of behavior which have been derived from the study of operant conditioning and considers the phenomenon of sport in society in the light of these principles. First, some of the terms used in Skinnerian behavioral analysis are defined and explained. The second section examines the reinforcements…

An effort was made to assess the relative effectiveness of different reinforcement systems versus traditional teaching with maladjusted boys. The subjects were 60 boys in grades 6 and 7 who participated during language arts classes, but total data were gathered on 26 boys. The boys had histories of aggressive behavior and language problems.…

PAPERS OR STUDIES CONCERNED WITH THE APPLICATION OF BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION PRINCIPLES TO CHILDREN AND RETARDATES ARE INCLUDED IN THIS ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. AUTHORS ARE LISTED ALPHABETICALLY. A SHORT PARAGRAPH DESCRIBES THE GENERAL NATURE OF EACH STUDY CITED, AND BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES ARE GIVEN. THERE ARE 130 ENTRIES IN THIS BIBLIOGRAPHY. (MS)

A study was done to investigate the relationship between a selected set of personality dimensions and the propensities of supervisors to use varying levels of both positive and negative reinforcements. Data were collected during exercises involving 129 male undergraduate business students carried out in a behavioral laboratory wherein a…