Greater Attitude change will occur when counterattitudinal messages are presented to uncommitted, rather than committed audience members. Persons who perform a counterattitudinal act with potential aversive consequences for the audience show greater attitude change than those for whom the possibility of harmful consequences is low. (Author)

The educator needs to understand the nature of human cognition and consequently to decide the objectives, behaviorally defined, of each education encounter so as to stimulate students toward new learning. The responsibility of education is to prepare learners for the adoption of a repertory of behaviors that will increase their probabilities of…

The article attempts to introduce to a teacher or counselor a way of setting up a behavior modification plan. The example can be adopted to fit various situations. The teacher or counselor can select the needed behavioral change, determine successive approximations, and use an appropriate immediate reward system. (Author)

Reviews research on overcorrection, a behavior reduction procedure, and considers its applications to special education in terms of punishment aspects and effects on generalization and maintenance. Advantages (including its effectiveness) as well as disadvantages (such as the length of time it requires) are pointed out. (CL)

Statistically, haloperidol was significantly superior to placebo in reducing behavioral symptoms. In a discrimination learning paradigm, autistic children receiving haloperidol learned the discrimination while those on placebo did not. Discrimination attained on haloperidol was retained when the children were switched to placebo. (Author)

Positive interference, therapeutic interuption of a high-rate self-abusive or self-stimulatory behavior with a reinforceable desired behavior, was implemented on a self-abusive autistic nine-year-old. Findings demonstrated that a child can learn desired behaviors without completely suppressing undesirable behaviors. (SW)

Describes a nine-step method to overcome resistance from participants and get the most from using role playing in training. (JOW)

Examined nicotine replacement effects on postcessation weight gain in smoking cessation volunteers. Randomly assigned abstinent subjects to active nicotine or placebo gum conditions for 10 weeks. Analyses revealed strong evidence for gum effect on weight gain, with active gum users gaining mean total of 3.8 pounds compared with 7.8 pounds for…