Four interdisciplinary staff teams at a public residential facility for persons with mental retardation improved the timeliness of submitting evaluation reports during a period when timeliness was reinforced. Performance deteriorated during the nonreinforcement phase. (Author/DB)

A successful cooperative group has a balance of both task and maintenance which comes from group members using appropriate social skills as the group works together. Suggestions are made for teachers to facilitate the use of these skills. (JD)

An elementary physical education teacher describes a successful behavior improvement program implemented at his school. Students earned points (tokens) for good behavior and physical education achievement. They lost points for inappropriate behavior. Donated prizes were awarded based on accumulated points. (IAH)

Used the Job Feedback Survey and performance data to examine the relationship between perceived organizational feedback environment and performance among 152 salaried employees. Higher performers were found to have received more total positive feedback, while expressions of dissatisfaction or anger from supervisors was related to lower…

This article responds to a study by Gerald Biederman and others, which concluded that verbal reinforcement in combination with interactive modeling strategies may produce confusion in children with language/learning difficulties. The article contends that a functional relationship cannot be claimed for the study's variables because measurement…

This counterpoint responds to Phillip Ward's commentary on a study by Gerald Biederman and others which concluded that verbal reinforcement in combination with interactive modeling strategies may produce confusion in children with language/learning difficulties. The counterpoint argues that the commentary indicates problems with semantics and with…

The applicability of two reinforcer assessment procedures to children with developmental disabilities and visual impairments was evaluated. Greater differentiation between stimuli occurred with a choice procedure than with a preference procedure. Measurement of compliance and responding rate in adaptive skill training confirmed that the choice…

Discusses specific elements that can foster effective and abuse-free out-of-home care, increase program effectiveness, and reduce negative outcomes such as staff burnout. Elements include caregiver support, a model of care, a focus on positive behavior, a consumer orientation, training, program evaluation, and an internal program audit. (HTH)

This study found that, compared to measuring approach behaviors to a variety of stimuli, a forced-choice stimulus preference assessment used with four young children with severe mental retardation resulted in greater differentiation among stimuli and better predicted which stimuli would result in higher levels of responding when presented…

Studied the attraction responses of child athletes to coaches who differed in their behavior patterns during the season. Children with low self-esteem responded positively to coaches with high self-esteem and negatively to coaches with low self-esteem on the instructiveness and supportiveness dimensions. Moderate- and high-self-esteem children…

Positive behavior management has been recommended as a more acceptable form of classroom management than traditional behavioral modification. This paper discusses the application of stimulus and contingency control methods (positive behavior management) to elicit more socially and academically acceptable behavior from elementary school children.…

Examined contingent positive and negative reinforcement and adaptive behavior and mood among 36 chronic, psychiatric outpatients who received either contingent positive token reinforcement to improve daily living skills, negative reinforcement procedure based on removal of free-tokens, or no treatment. Found significant differences between control…

A study compared effects of continuous reinforcement (play) and alone conditions as controls during functional analyses for 66 individuals whose self-injurious behavior (SIB) was maintained by escape. SIB was lower during both control conditions than it was during the test (demand) condition. SIB was lowest during the alone condition. (Author/CR)

Discusses how inconsistent nurturing as control theory asserts that because of competing goals of nurturing and controlling, partners of drug-dependent individuals will unintentionally encourage the very behavior they are trying to extinguish through inconsistent manifestations of reinforcement and punishment. Finds that partners of substance…

Functional assessments and assessment-based interventions were conducted with an 8-year-old boy with disabilities and severe problem behavior in the context of two family routines: using the home bathroom and dining in a fast-food restaurant. A multiple baseline design demonstrated the effectiveness of the intervention package as implemented by…