Described is a structured approach to managing behavior and increasing socialization skills of severely disturbed children in primary and adolescent classrooms. It is noted that manual signing accompanied by verbalization, gesture, and physical assisting is used to communicate behavioral expectations in the primary class; while in the adolescent…

Provided are some of the guidelines used in the Village School Behavior Modification Program for children with behavior problems in Bergen County, New Jersey. Included are definitions of the terms "emotionally disturbed" and "socially maladjusted", descriptions of some behavior modification techniques used, copies of forms and…

This paper describes the results of a behavioral analysis of learning sequences used in initial instruction in the New Reading System, an early-reading curriculum. A rational analysis using behavioral categories yielded a set of strategies for teaching reading acquisition skills. Contingency management was assessed by an application of the…

This paper discusses a number of contingency arrangements used in studies at the University of Kansas to enhance individualized characteristics of personalized instruction. It begins with an examination of Keller's Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) and its five defining features: (1) reliance on the written word, (2) unit mastery, (3) the…

Two adolescent boys with a history of rapidly increasing obesity participated in a behavioral weight reduction program. The multi-dimensional treatment package consisted of those behavioral techniques most often shown to be effective in treating obese adults (programed behavior management and stimulus control instructions, self monitoring of daily…

The study involving 18 moderately retarded adolescents attending a public high school program assessed the usefulness of a behavioral weight reduction program. The behavior treatment involved exposure of Ss to external and self-reinforcement, stimulus control, simplified self monitoring and exercise over a 14-week active training period. Behavior…

Two contingency systems, individual and group, were evaluated for their effects on children's behavior during small group meetings. A group of 48 children, ages 8-14, attended a seven-week residential camp program operated on a token economy system. Ratings of the campers' behavior were made by the counselors on a five-point rating scale at the…

Forty-three hyperactive children (5 to 9 years old) and their families were assessed and followed during a 3 month intervention program. Families were randomly assigned to one of three groups: parent training in behavior modification while the child was administered a placebo, parent training plus methylphenidate, and methylphenidate only. All…

Although the principles governing the application of positive reinforcement to classroom situations remain clear and theoretically consistent, practical problems arise during application that are not easily anticipated. This paper focuses on one practical issue: the selection of appropriate reinforcers to use in inner city high schools. The paper…

A study was conducted to learn about the effective practice of theatre through the application of research methods developed in studies involving other types of organizations. Successful and unsuccessful play directors, as determined by evaluations of their plays in the Southwest Region of the American College Theatre Festival, were surveyed to…

The final report of a project on teaching and management techniques with severely disturbed and/or retarded children presents analysis of single subject research using contingent imitation of the child as an intervention technique. The effects of this technique were examined on the following behaviors: toyplay and reciprocal imitation, self…

Examined were the effects of four teachers' use of a data-based behaviorally oriented planning technique on the verbal labeling performance of eight developmentally delayed children (2-5 years old). Teachers were introduced to a 10-tactic planning technique that included behaviors ranging from simply counting the number of correct and incorrect…

This monograph examines the component parts of behavior modification, initially defining the problem behavior and drawing a difference between specific observable behaviors (the focus of behavior modification), and the interest of Freudian and similar psychologies in unobservable internal processes. Instrumental learning related to shaping in…

Attendance at guest lectures, instructor lectures, and films in self-paced introductory psychology courses was examined in two experiments with 180 students in an introductory psychology class at Utah State University. In the first experiment, students were given no points, one point credit toward interviews, or one point credit toward the final…

A detailed examination of the many faceted and interrelated steps requisite to the rational design, production, and operational management of a validated learning experience mediated by technology is presented. The eight phases in instructional design within which the book operates are: 1) the frame of reference within which the instruction must…