Examines self-control interventions considered effective in improving the performance of mentally retarded persons in acquiring, maintaining, and generalizing learned tasks. Studies employing self-monitoring, self-reinforcement, and antecedent cue regulation (self-instruction and picture cues) are cited. Picture cues are recommended as the most…

Describes an intervention program to help abused children learn to inhibit aggressive behavior and increase cooperative behavior. Sixteen physically abused children participated in the program. Behavior ratings were made during the program and in-home follow-ups. Following initial increases in aggressive behaviors, significant increases in…

Analysis of reciprocal peer tutoring combined with group reinforcement contingencies on the arithmetic performance of 12 underachieving fifth-graders indicated that the intervention increased the students' arithmetic performance to a level indistinguishable from their classmates during treatment and 12-week follow-up. Students also increased peer…

The effectance motivation of 624 sixth graders was assessed on the basis of two measures completed by teachers. Student were also observed for their choice of hard and easy problems after being informed of contingencies based on the correctness of solutions. (Author/CI)

Parents can help their children with learning and/or behavior problems adjust to junior high school by implementing a home-school contingency plan in which certain privileges are made contingent on good social or academic behavior at school. Suggestions are offered for establishing, implementing, and terminating (or continuing) a successful plan.…

A self-management procedure used with 10 students (8-12 years old) in special schools was found to alter behavior directly without the need for a prior period of externally managed contingencies and was equal or superior to the externally administered tokens in its effects on time-on-task and out-of-seat behavior. (Author/CL)

The article suggests that retarded behavior is maintained by certain events in the environment and their relationship to an individual's behavior. Maintenance of these behaviors is attributed to positive reinforcement, avoidance behavior, and contingency schedules. Several examples of the maintenance effects of each of these paradigms are given.…

For effective teaching, the author asserts, student self-direction must be matched to an appropriate degree of teacher direction and both adjusted for group dynamics of the classroom. Accounting for these three levels of activity, a schematic analysis is drawn of the total teaching situation, and strategies are suggested that adapt teaching style…

A creative writing program using a token reinforcement approach for six 10- to 12-year-old students with learning and behavior problems resulted in increased output of written words, reduced spelling errors, and improved composition quality. (CL)

A contingency-based lottery system was implemented to improve the classroom behavior of 18 learning disabled and educable mentally handicapped students, aged 13 to 16 years. Results indicated substantial increases in times students remained in assigned areas, and numbers of students prepared for class; and marked reduction in nonauthorized…

Handwriting performance was measured over baseline, direct contingent reward, and implicit reward conditions for elementary-grade children from normal classes. Extinctive reactions present under implicit reward conditions were significantly stronger for groups of eight than for paired subjects. Age-level factors were not significantly related to…

Studied differences in job satisfaction between professionals and administrators. Administrators (N=44) and health-care professionals (N=105) completed questionnaires addressing organizational climate, role conflict, role ambiguity, functional influence, and job satisfaction. Results found several differences and suggest that differential…

The self-injurious avoidance responses of a 22-year-old severely mentally retarded male were eliminated through a forced running consequence. Side effects, such as reduced noise, increase in smiling, and faster progress toward instructional objectives, were also noted. The results were maintained over a period of two years. (Author/PHR)

Pavlov's organism-in-the-environment model was adapted to a functional analysis of communication, expecially abstract and symbolic activities. A classification of discrimination response and reinforcement patterns was given. (CP)