Data were collected on rate-per-minute of administering token reinforcement for one male and seven female teachers enrolled in a behavior modification seminar. The study was conducted in four self-contained and four open classrooms. In the observer-present condition, data were obtained during 15-minute classroom observation periods. In the…

Three separate, sequential three-month studies were made to determine the effects of timed pupil feedback on teaching behavior. Audiotapes were made of the teaching behaviors of eighteen teachers before, during, and after the teachers introduced a feedback instrument to their pupils. The tapes were analyzed for changes in teacher behavior over the…

This experiment was an attempt to replicate a sound discrimination training procedure reported by Elkonin (1963). Eight kindergarten subjects were given a training list composed of five words made up of nine sounds. Experimental subjects learned to discriminate the sounds making up the words with aid of pictures representing the words as well as…

The purposes of the project were to demonstrate the use of desensitization therapy over a short term to treat test-taking anxiety, and to test the hypothesis that such short-term treatment is effective in dealing with anxiety in mathematics courses and thus enhances and facilitates learning in these courses. The research was designed to utilize…

Described is a program to provide educational services for severely emotionally disturbed (autistic or childhood schizophrenic) children based on behavior modification principles. Both formal and informal tests of performance are given in the areas of preacademic and readiness tasks. Each child is individually tutored in language, pre-reading,…

The mother of a 3-year-old girl who showed "autistic-like" behavior was cued via a FM wireless microphone to systematically approve and disapprove of her child's behavior. After baselines were taken on two categories of problem behavior (Pre-Academic and Social Behavior) the social contingencies were applied successively to each category. The…

Whether or not an innovation in education is accepted is often dependent upon its direct affect on the stability of the adopter. A framework of organizational theory provides structure and meaning for a study on differing positive/negative responses of distinct groupings of educators toward the adoption of innovative practices. Educational change…

An attempt is made to determine whether a behaviorally-oriented conditioning approach, "covert sensitization," is more effective in the treatment of alcoholism than the commonly used problem-solving approach, and whether female counselors employing covert sensitization were more successful than males. Thirty-two subjects selected on…

Designed for teachers, administrators, and other specialized educational personnel, this professional paper describes new insights involving the problem of putting health knowledge into action. It explores reasons for the discrepancy between knowledge and behavior and suggests the asking of two questions: (1) What basic problem is the individual…

The purpose of this follow-up study was to determine whether changes in teacher high-level questioning behavior and classroom interaction patterns (rates of pupil and teacher talk) which resulted from the use of operant methodology in a microteaching setting were maintained during the student teaching experience a year later. Twenty University of…

This paper provides the teacher with a brief introduction to the principles of behavior modification. Major areas of concern deal with the history of behavior modification, implications for the concept of mental health, the teacher's role, the difference between behavior modification and other forms of control, reinforcement, the role of…

The project taught mothers to apply behavior modification techniques to their mentally retarded children's behaviors. Subjects were 16 trainable retarded children (mean MA 4.3 years, mean CA 5 years), living at home, and their mothers, who were randomly assigned to experimental (E) or control (C) groups. C mothers were told to ask their children…

Two groups of five preschool children were trained to press a key for marbles for four sessions of variable ratio reinforcement (VR6). Subsequently, response decrement for the groups was compared during conditions of fixed and variable differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO and VDRO). Fixed DRO was more effective for decreasing response…

The author describes his "Target Approach" to counseling depressed and/or suicidal patients. By tailoring a technique to selected characteristics ("targets") of the depression as well as to the personality of the patient, more effective counseling is achieved. This target approach involves 3 steps: (1) breaking the problem of…

This paper deals with two problems confronting the applied researcher using a behavior analysis approach. The first is concerned with the need for independence of behaviors, subjects and settings. The effectiveness with which the researcher can solve this type of problem depends on the researcher's emphasis on the examination of procedures, and…