Behavioral approaches to the treatment of obese mentally retarded individuals are reviewed. Studies are examined regarding the level of mental retardation, age group, techniques employed, and weight lost at the end of treatment. Conclusions relate implications for practitioners, as well as future research concerns. (Author)

The article reviews definitions, examples and techniques for implementing prompting and fading techniques with handicapped individuals. A review is also made of the research evidence describing the effectiveness of various methods of prompting: verbal, gesture, modeling, physical, combination, test-teach, and both within and extrastimulus…

An integration of Adlerian and social constructionist ideas, the reflecting "as if" technique asks clients to take a reflective step backward to consider perceptual and behavioral alternatives as a prelude to their acting as if they were the couple they desire to be. This article describes the reflecting as if technique and provides a…

Describes technique known as symptom induction and de-escalation for panic attacks in which goal is to reproduce the type of situation that may precipitate an attack and then to show the client how the attacks can be "turned on" as well as "turned off." (ABL)

Treated 32 outpatient depressives using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Classified subjects as CBT responders (n=22) or nonresponders (n=10) on basis of independent clinical ratings of Hamilton depressive severity. At posttreatment, responders shifted balance of positivity and negativity to optimal range, whereas nonresponders remained in…

Using "principled pragmatism," this article summarizes some of the ways in which new knowledge concerning behavior therapy with couples can be used to reshape intervention strategy and tactics. Identifies principles that have stood the test of time, and suggests ways in which those that did not fare as well can be updated. (Author/MKA)

Examines the effects of the Mystery Motivator, a behavioral contract designed to remediate bedtime problems by delivering random reinforcement. Three adults and their four children participated. Three children showed substantial changes in both time out of bed and bedtime noncompliance. The fourth child showed less improvement. (Author/MKA)

Behavior-reduction interventions typically employ dense schedules of alternative reinforcement in conjunction with operant extinction for problem behavior. After problem behavior is reduced in the initial treatment stages, schedule thinning is routinely conducted to make the intervention more practical in natural environments. In the current…

In the current investigation, we evaluated the relative effects of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), escape extinction, and a combination of NCR and escape extinction as treatment for the feeding problems exhibited by 4 children. For each participant, consumption increased only when escape extinction was implemented, independent of whether NCR…

This is a discussion and evaluation of the views of the authors of the article "Post-September 11th Perspectives on Religion, Spirituality, and Philosophy in the Personal and Professional Lives of Selected REBT Cognoscenti." Several of the authors are shown to endorse most of the main principles and practices of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy…

A four-phase investigation was completed to analyze the utility of forced-choice preference assessments when response effort and reinforcer delays are altered within a subsequent reinforcer assessment. The results indicated that access to highly preferred stimuli continued to serve as a reinforcer when increased response effort was required. When…

The current article describes the application of a behavioral psychotherapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), to the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is argued that PTSD can be conceptualized as a disorder that is developed and maintained in traumatized individuals as a result of excessive, ineffective attempts to…

Individual treatment response to behavior modification was examined in the context of a summer treatment program. Four children ages 11 to 12 and diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were examined in a BABAB design in which a comprehensive behavioral program was utilized and withdrawn across an 8-week period. Dependent measures…

We conducted a brief (8 days) functional analysis to identify sources of control over persistent saliva-play displayed by a 6-year old child with autism in a school setting. The functional analysis suggested that saliva-play was maintained by automatic reinforcement, leading to an intervention evaluation (3 days) that compared two methods of…

Behavioral treatments are perhaps the cornerstone of modern obesity treatment. Maintenance of weight lost via behavioral treatments has been less than hoped for, however. Weight regain is the result of complex interactions between physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and environmental factors; in this paper we review some of these factors and…