This paper reports the results of two studies designed to evaluate the effects of a group contingency for conservation on use of electricity. Residents of 166 apartment units in three towers participated in the first study. The group contingency consisted of biweekly payments to residents of the value of the electricity they saved, as compared to…

Most histories of psychology and psychiatry attribute the first group psychotherapy to Joseph Pratt's 1905 class for tuberculosis patients. Pratt's actual treatment procedures are examined. They are shown to have consisted primarily of operant and social-learning techniques, aimed at increasing patient compliance with a demanding therapeutic…

The literature on elementary school classroom management is reviewed. Topics include student characteristics and individual differences, preparing the classroom as a learning environment, organizing instruction and support activities to maximize student engagement in productive tasks, developing workable housekeeping procedures and conduct rules,…

The old argument of humanism versus behaviorism is slowly being replaced by a synthesis of these two foundations of thought. This slow professional recognition of synthesis is due to three basic shortcomings in the professional community rather than extreme differences in ideological thought. They are: (1) psychological terminology being equated…

An analysis of the different models or discussions of the process of change would indicate the following common elements: (1) an awareness of a need for change or a possible innovation for adoption or the identification of a problem which needs to be corrected; (2) a development or cultivation of interest in the change or innovation; (3) the…

This presentation discusses the question, "What makes a parent program effective?" by reviewing some of the author's professional experiences within a framework of a planning model borrowed from Lillie and Maslow. The planning model consists of four components: information, interaction, involvement, and insight. The four components may be present…

Data from a national survey were used to test a model representing the dynamics of newspaper reading behaviors. It was hypothesized that three types of constraints (structural constraints, transitional constraints, and self-constraints) would be present to various degrees in four types of newspaper readers: regular readers, regular nonreaders,…

This paper presents research findings on differences in the social and cognitive behavior of first born and only children at 3, 12, and 24 months of age as observed at home and in a free play laboratory setting. The sample consisted of 21 only children (children who did not acquire a sibling for at least the first 48 months of life) and 35 first…

Research related to the importance of involving parents directly in treatment programming for childhood obesity has provided inconclusive results because of methodological problems and relatively short treatment duration periods. The effectiveness of an extended behavioral weight control program was evaluated during a 10-week treatment phase and…

Experimental interest in anger arousal has typically been incidental or secondary to the study of aggresssion. Novaco developed a cognitive behavior therapy approach to chronic anger problems. Clinical techniques have followed the work of Meichenbaum (1974, 1975) in the development of an approach called "stress inoculation" that has been…

This guide is intended to familiarize therapists with the scope of marital difficulties and the range of techniques found useful in dealing with them. While it is tempting to think that proven techniques can be matched to specific marital problems, the literature cautions that predicting outcome in therapy research depends not only on the…

The traumatic effect of divorce on young children is discussed, noting the typical changes in behavior evidenced by children in such a situation. Suggestions are made on ways parents can cope with the child's emotional reactions and alleviate the stress that is natural when a marriage dissolves. (JD)

Conditions are examined under which the imposition of an extrinsic constraint upon performance of an activity can lead to decrements in creativity. Female college students worked on an art activity either with or without the expectation of external evaluation. In addition, subjects were asked to focus upon either the creative or the technical…

In 1976, Muller and Spuhler found support for the proposition that self-concept influenced achievement. This experiment was designed to challenge their findings by demonstrating that when self-concept is lowered in a therapeutic manner, no deficit in achievement will result. The experimenter adjusted the self-concepts of college students regarding…

Intentional changes over the past two years in the lives of 45 women and men in Toronto were examined through interviews involving extensive probing and dialogue. The intentional changes turned out to be mostly through self-help. It was largely the person herself or himself who chose, planned, and implemented the change. The person often obtained…