This review of 50 social validation research studies involving persons with handicaps concludes that social validation procedures are an appropriate and important component of applied behavior analysis. Discussed are methodological issues, social importance of effects, social significance of goals, social appropriateness of procedures, and…

Argues that the world view of contemporary behavior analysis, especially behavior analysis of child development, is contextualistic, not mechanistic. The history of behavior analysis is presented in a revised account that focuses on philosophic movements. Contextualism of behavior analysis is contrasted with mechanism with respect to five core…

The predominant theoretical orientation of the majority of scientists studying human behavioral development and family functioning is derived from systems models. These theories are dynamic in their conceptualization and emphasize process and context. To a large extent, the analytic strategies we employ are not consistent with our theoretical…

Behavioral observations have the advantages of being direct, tangible, and informative as to the contextual determinants of behavior. Considerable evidence exists that a three-dimensional structure gives meaning to many child behaviors in a variety of life settings. Three bipolar dimensions constitute this framework: introversion vs. extroversion,…

The main question explored in this article is whether behavior analysts are more interested in examining the variables of which socially important behaviors are a function, or in improving those behaviors. It is concluded that improvement is currently more important to researchers than analysis. (Author/AM)

This article reports a study investigating deviant behavior in normal families. It examines nonproblem children and their families in their homes. It provides information on rates of deviant behavior for children without identified behavioral difficulties and the interaction patterns of family members who deal with these children. It analyzes: (1)…

Partial and methodologically questionable replications of the Luria experiments on the child's verbal regulation of his motor behavior have led to results and conclusions contradictory to Luria's findings. An error in the methodology of two of these replications is discussed as the reason for a new investigation of Luria's hypothesis. Several…

Psychosocial adaptations are sometimes affected by experiences that are ordinarily considered to be amusements. In 1974, a field study was undertaken by the Program on Psychosocial Adaptation and the Future to determine if it is possible to measure the effect of television on adult viewers. A sample of 260 couples, controlled for demographic…

The usefulness of the social class construct for life-cycle research is discussed in this paper. Social class is defined as used in the paper, and as it is generally used by students of the human life cycle. It is further evaluated as a descriptor, and a predictor of behaviors and attitudes. The construct seems to be most useful in studies of…

Psychosocial adaptations are sometimes affected by experiences that are ordinarily considered to be amusements. In 1974, a field study was undertaken by the Program on Psychosocial Adaptation and the Future to determine if it is possible to measure the effect of television on adult viewers. A sample of 260 couples, controlled for demographic…