Two studies were conducted to clarify the role of different minimum performance standards for contingent tangible reinforcement or self-dispensed evaluative reinforcement (in the absence of tangible rewards) in determining the rate and accuracy of learning. Preschool children were presented with a discrimination learning task. Their performance…

Presented is an overview of the history and current methods and a review of some critical issues related to behavior modification. Behavior modification is defined, and examples of methods such as positive reinforcement, aversive control, and systematic desensitization are provided. Summarized are evaluations of the effectiveness of behavior…

Described is an Operant Conditioning-Token Economy Program, teaching patients to be responsible for their own behavior, to make choices, and to be motivated to change. The program was instigated with mentally ill patients in a state hospital and was later used with institutionalized mentally handicapped groups. After two years, only four of the…

This study investigated the effects of Expected Audience Response (EAR) and Perceived Audience Response (PAR) on speaker attitudes, tested the predictability of cognitive balance theory in a communication feedback setting, and provided a comprehensive review of the experimental literature on feedback. Speakers were given an expectation of the…

Twelve culturally disadvantaged 4-year-olds of borderline normal intelligence were subjects of this study. Its primary purpose was to test further the cognitive learning theory previously developed, as well as the reinforcement system, the facilities, and the experimental-longitudinal methods of research. The study did not include a control group…

Three types of extra stimulation in reading are discussed: extra teacher time devoted to teaching reading, extra student time devoted to practice in reading, and extra motivation and reinforcement leading to greater amounts of student reading outside the school. Problems are created (1) when teaching time spent on reading is increased in the…

Classroom management and what teachers can do to make it possible for children to behave better, which permits learning to occur, are the subjects of this handbook. The authors hypothesize that the first step toward better classroom management is a teacher's recognition that how children behave is largely determined by the teacher's behavior. When…

This investigation was concerned with the effects of negative evaluations by an adult on elementary school children's social interactions and performance. A two-component theory of evaluation called for experimental creation of evaluative comments which involved two degrees of strength of criticism and two degrees of helpful information provided…

A partial replication of an investigation of the effect of covert reinforcement on a perceptual estimation task is described. The study was extended to include an extinction phase. There were five treatment groups: covert reinforcement, neutral scene reinforcement, noncontingent covert reinforcement, and two control groups. Each subject estimated…

The mediating role of learning in the relationship between repeated exposure and affect was explored and supported in three experiments involving a total of 229 undergraduate participants. It was found that both learning and affect measures behaved in essentially the same way as a function of exposure duration (experiments I and III), serial…

This investigation attempted to clarify the effects of different classes of reinforcement on the size discrimination learning of normal and low achieving third grade middle class boys. The classes of reinforcement consisted of tangible reinforcement, person reinforcement (praise), and performance reinforcement (correctness of response). Each of…

The primary problem was concerned with the uses of hypnosis and waking suggestions as means of improving reading efficiency. A second problem concerned rectifying research design inadequacies related to hypnosis experiments. The procedure used pretest scores secured for rate, comprehension, and vocabulary. Subjects were placed in experimental and…

Feeling that the key problem in working with delinquent adolescents is to help them bring their antisocial behaviors under control and establish more socially acceptable behaviors, the author points out that an important step is to change the pupil' attitudes about reading, test-taking, schools, and teachers. Suggested methods of motivation are…

In a study of the effects of an anticipated reward on the interaction between rewarder and rewardee, the hypothesis was advanced that the offer of a reward heightens a child's sense of outerdirectedness and dependency upon the rewarding adult. Twenty-nine preschoolers who had demonstrated some intrinsic interest in puzzles were asked to assemble a…

The technique of behavioral contracting is recommended as a highly effective, readily applied technique for use in efforts to strengthen the control of family and school over the behavior of delinquents. A behavioral contract is a means of scheduling the exchange of positive reinforcements among two or more persons. The use of behavioral contracts…