To test reports that the development of programs for producing durable extra-therapy responding lags behind the development of programs for producing initial behavior change, responding was recorded continuously in both the therapy and extra-therapy settings for three autistic males (7 to 11 years old). (Author)

Procedures are proposed for increasing the accuracy of generalization assessment in applied behavior analysis with behavior problem populations by accounting for the degree of natural covariation between treated and untreated behaviors. (Author/DB)

Identifies and discusses general issues pertaining to research on social and personality aspects of adult cognitive development. Organizes comments around the concepts of selection and generalization. Suggests that concern with nature and effects of selection can help researchers in aging more efficiently and effectively design studies, analyze…

Some issues in the debate between qualitative and quantitative researchers are examined. It is argued that "local theories" that apply in particular contexts can allow quantitative researchers to abandon the search for universal theories. Parallels are drawn between local theories in the quantitative tradition and case studies in the qualitative…

Hearing-impaired 6- to 13-year-olds (N=24), trained to discriminate between two stimulus complexes differing in shape, direction, and number, were asked to discriminate between individual characteristics in all possible pair combinations. General failure to respond to all characteristics equally suggested that hearing-impaired children tend to be…

The paper reviews limitations in social skills research with mentally retarded persons, noting problems in conceptual development, validation of social skills objectives, and generalization. The most serious limitation identified is the failure to demonstrate that community integration and adjustment can be enhanced through training. (CL)

Reliability research has suggested that perhaps the construct of career indecision is not stable and modest test-retest correlations might be an accurate reflection of an inherently unstable construct. Using generalizability theory, stability was found to vary according to the difficulty in making a career decision. (Author/BL)

The technique of generalizing sample results in a classification study to large subpopulations of unequal sizes was examined. The usual output from the discriminant analysis routine in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was extended to handle the present statistical problems. Advantages of the technique were discussed. (Author/DWH)

The effects of token reinforcement on accuracy of math performance and generalization to social behavior with an adolescent underachiever were examined. Results indicated an increase in accuracy on math assignments during the token reinforcement condition. The procedures also decreased inappropriate verbalizations when consequences were provided…

A visual prompting procedure was instituted to train four mildly retarded elementary children to make purchases. Results indicated all students acquired coin skills taught during training, generalized skills to untrained items, and maintained skills over a four-week interval. Removal of visual prompts (fading) resulted in improvement for all…

The main features of a multiple site, structured case study design are presented. The nature of explanatory patterns, how case study investigators pursue and recognize valid patterns, and how an analyst can apply the same logic to cross-site analysis are discussed. (Author/BW)

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) with status delinquents has undergone careful scrutiny in well designed studies. Describes three replications which extended FFT to new populations, utilized less formally trained therapists, and applied it in new treatment contexts. Provides support for the generalizability of FFT across client and therapist…

The paper examines cognitive and metacognitive teaching practices in relation to theories of motivation, showing how and why they may inadvertently impede the learning disabled trainee's strategy of generalization. Ways for teachers to counteract such practices as well as implications for research needs are discussed. (Author/CL)

A 15-year-old with severe handicaps who exhibited minimal intentional communicative behavior was taught to discriminately encode three classes of communicative functions. Results suggest that pragmatic discriminations can be established early in a sequence of communication intervention. The S used requesting and rejecting spontaneously in other…

An 18-year-old youth placed in a residential state mental health facility because of social skills deficits participated in treatment over a 48-day period in which the student was observed in four settings. Results suggest that the skills taught--greetings and thanking behavior--were maintained and generalized to three natural settings. (Author/CL)