The paper analyses issues in the hearing assessment of multihandicapped deaf-blind children. The experiences of the authors as consultants to centers for deaf-blind children are briefly noted. Advantages and disadvantages are considered for two basic approaches to hearing assessment: the electrophysiologic in which electricity from neural…

Problems and strategies in implementing classroom token economy systems as a means of behavior modification are reviewed. Discussed is the importance of such factors in the original token plan as the reinforcement schedule, and time-out procedures. Among implementation issues considered are observing and counting behaviors. (CL)

Based on an MA thesis submitted to the University of Illinois.

Eighty undergraduate students participated in an investigation of the effects on acquisition of immediate versus 30-second delay of reinforcement under either known or unknown response contingency conditions. The students in the four experimental conditions were required to depress three buttons in proper senquence. Following a correct response,…

Criteria for applying aversive stimulation with severely handicapped children are examined, and practical and ethical issues are considered. Factors seen to influence punishment outcomes include timing, intensity, and schedule of reinforcement. Suggested is the need for further research on the comparative effectiveness of positive and negative…

The research reported in this document was an attempt to replicate the study by Wish, Cautela, and Steffen, and to test the effects of covert reinforcement on overt behavior. The subjects were 50 college students who were presented the task of estimating the diameter of each circle in a series presented by slide projector. Pre- and post-treatment…

The bibliography presents approximately 70 citations (1958-1972) dealing with parents as behavior modifiers. Arranged alphabetically by author's name, the listings usually contain title, source, date, and pagination information. (CL)

Innovative models for education are often quickly adopted. Behavior modification, or operant conditioning, is an example of a technique which has been widely used because, when properly applied in the classroom, it "works." However, the application of a technique should be carefully thought through in terms of the meaning of the behavior in…

To investigate the resistance to extinction in mentally handicapped children under conditions of stimulus variation, three experiments involving mildly retarded children were conducted. Test procedures were altered somewhat in each case (the new learning task chosen for the second experiment being a reversal shift of experiment one), and the third…

This paper presents a model for studying the effects of operant conditioning on reading behavior. Four academically deficient college sophomores, two of whom were reinforced for appropriate responses, were chosen as subjects. After surveying each of 25 chapters comprised of 636 appropriate topic sentences, all four subjects were given mimeographed…

The basic principles of operant and classical conditioning are presented, and their applications for the in-service training of teachers are discussed. Certain classroom behaviors are analyzed and applied to the classic stimulus-response paradigm. Activities are generically classified as positive or negative reinforcers and these reinforcers, in…

Following Walter Nord (1969), the present article contains a predictive model of individual behavior based on both operant conditioning and management literatures. The behavior of an organizational member is seen as a function of the reinforcement contingencies applied by various groups in his environment and of his cognitive assessment of such…