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 the parent education component of a St. Louis, Missouri, program for the severely handicapped (5-21 years old) which focused on instruction in behavior modification skills. Noted are the organization of the first program of 10 weekly sessions, a continuation program for parents who completed the first program, the "hard to reach"…

Until recently, the use of contingency contracting has been largely an issue of theory and discussion with little experimental research evidence gathered to support efficacy. Two major reasons for this problem are suggested and discussed: (1) the concept of contingency contracting has not been adequately defined nor its minimal requirements…

Behavior modification as an attack upon the problem of mutism in mongoloid children establishes the basis of the text. Case histories of four children in a state institution present the specific strategy of speech therapy using verbal conditioning. Imitation and attending behavior, verbal chaining, phonetic theory, social reinforcement,…

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…

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…

Several of the theoretical and experimental assumptions relating to behavior modification are examined and criticized: (1) the human mind can only be understood by observing and measuring the functional behavior it causes, (2) performance can be equated with learning, (3) reward systems and token economies improve intrinsic learning, and (4) all…

Seven articles treat the establishment of operant conditioning programs for the mentally retarded at Pacific State Hospital in California. Emphasis is on the administrative rather than the demonstration of research aspects of operant conditioning programs. Following an introduction and overview, the medical director's point of view on operant…

University graduate students worked as counselors with delinquent prone youths to develop and define means of identifying and re-orienting delinquent prone youths in a high school community setting. Diagnostic and evaluative instruments and techniques used included the computer analyzed Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the…

This study investigated the effects of between-trials variability on the alternation discrimination of retardates. Brightness and size were variable between trials and irrelevant. Initial response outcome and mental age were also independent variables. Neither between-trials variability nor mental age produced a significant main effect, while the…

Twenty children diagnosed as mentally retarded (MR) were enrolled in a special training program designed to increase Ss' school-appropriate behaviors by means of the sequential and consequential arrangement of teaching objectives and teaching procedures. A hierarchy of achievement levels was established with a sequential and consequential…

Presented are the proceedings of an environmental programing workshop on deaf blind individuals at which principles, techniques, and examples of behavior modification were discussed and demonstrated. Rules for data collection are given as well as explanations of the categorizing, the measuring devices, and the data sheets involved in behavior…

The present study was undertaken as a preliminary evaluation of a psychophysiological method for training children in the control of hyperactive behavior. The method involves breathing control and attention training which employs biofeedback and operant conditioning principles designed to help the child develop control over excessive and…

An annotated selective bibliography of documents on operation conditioning which are found in the ERIC microfiche collection and in journal literature is presented. Abstracts of these documents were taken from Research in Education (RIE) and Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). Included are published and unpublished studies focusing on…

Following 4 weeks of unsuccessful conventional therapy, five trainable mentally retarded males (CA 7-12 years) were placed in a behavior modification group-therapy-readiness program (BMP). Immediate gratification, short range delayed gratification, and long range delayed gratification were used. Teachers were encouraged to continue the BMP in…