The French language article is the second in a series and describes the principles of classic conditioning which underlie attitude formation and change. The article also notes the many functions of self-concept attitudes in order to guide the choices of intervention in attitude learning. (Author/SB)

The activities of religious cults are generally protected by the First Amendment but have caused concern and controversy. Legal pressure can be used in cases of fraud and misrepresentation but the best prevention is education and information for young adults, educators, and families. (JAC)

The philosophies underlying the learning and structural theories used in psychology are described in this article. It is argued that a dialectical view provides some ways to breach the chasm between learning theory and the study of human development. (Author/DB)

Conditioning was established for the two most developmentally advanced Ss, and the intermediate pair showed different patterns of orienting response to the conditioned stimulus but no evidence of conditioning. The fifth and most developmentally delayed child did not respond to the stimuli. Journal Availability: J. B. Lippincott Co., East…

The design for Floyd Elementary School in Miami (Florida) seeks to harness solar energy to provide at least 70 percent of the annual energy for cooling needs and 90 percent for hot water. (Author/MLF)

Behavioral indicators of attachments of children to others are surveyed with emphasis on crying or cued by a mother's departures, separations or absences. Some risks in using single attachment indices are explored. (MS)

Results of this study indicate that sample group of unskilled laborers were more productive working under a schedule of continuous reinforcement than under a varied schedule, despite higher average earnings during the latter program. (RW)

Subjects (N=20) participated in a smoking-reduction program that attempted to assess the initial effectiveness of a rapid-smoking procedure administered to groups. Results are discussed in terms of self-set and the attribution of behavior change. (Author)

Investigates factors that have effects on conditioning. Tests nine mice with three types of reinforcement: (1) primary-need positive reinforcement; (2) secondary-need positive reinforcement; and (3) secondary-need negative reinforcement. Measures the effectiveness of the reinforcements by both rate of response and response strength. Discusses the…

Literature is reviewed documenting the relationship between implementation of communication intervention and decreases in excess behavior in persons with severe disabilities. Operant conditioning and pragmatics are discussed in terms of their joint application to excess behavior, and a list of possible pragmatic intents of excess behavior is…

In later life, I. P. Pavlov incorporated his findings on aging into his theory of higher nervous activity. Some of the major findings showed that salivary conditioning and stimulus differentiation were difficult to establish in old dogs, but that conditioned reflexes established earlier in life persisted into old age. Pavlov hypothesized that…

This study of 20 3-month-old infants with Down's syndrome and 20 nondisabled infants found that both groups were successfully trained to produce movement in an overhead crib mobile by kicking, and displayed long-term retention a week later. Conditioning and retention-test performance of the two groups did not differ. (Author/JDD)

Four young adults with moderate mental retardation were taught to include "please" as part of requests, and four environmental stimuli present during training were assessed. Results indicated that presence of a single stimulus or pair of stimuli increased the probability of the "please" response, whereas presence of other…

Discusses the issue of increased air-conditioning demand when schools equip their classrooms with computers that require enhanced and costlier air-conditioning systems. Air-conditioning costs are analyzed in two elementary schools and a middle school. (GR)

This study evaluated use of the interpolation of reinforcement effect, which combines intermittent (INT) and continuous reinforcement (CRF) schedules, with four young children with autism using a free-operant preparation. Results suggest that responding may be less resistant to extinction following interpolated CRF reinforcement than following INT…