The notion of differentially reinforcing low rates of undesirable behavior (DRL) is examined. Further, the status of the full session DRL strategy as alternative to punishment is questioned in context of a strictly operant definition of punishment. A reexamination of the data from some studies reveals the possibility that Ss respond to said DRL…

The author cautions against indiscriminate use of behavior modification by untrained professionals. (CL)

In contrast to the traditional view that maladaptive behaviors are surface manifestations of underlying emotional disturbances, the behavior modification approach assumes that such behaviors are simply learned ways of adjusting to the environment and are determined by the consequences that follow them. (Author)

Research supported in part by National Institute of Mental Health Grant PN-8086, and presented in part at the 1967 American Psychological Association Convention.

Four experiments are discussed, in which parents devised and conducted procedures to alleviate their children's behavior problems. The behavior difficulties treated included infrequent use of an orthodontic device, the low-level performance of household tasks, whining and shouting, and a long duration of dressing time. The techniques used to…

Investigates the generalization of verbal conditioning effects to postconditioning personality and behavioral measures. Results demonstrated conditioning and generalization to some of the personality measures. (Author)

It is through the selection of responses that are to serve as the organism's guests that many of the organism's characteristics and outcomes are determined. (MS)

In this article, the author shares an anecdote demonstrating one-trial learning which is commonplace in human behavior. The demonstration suggests that under some conditions, when people hear someone speak, their behavior changes, even in the absence of an apparent contingency of reinforcement, but only if they have in their repertoire verbal…

Two counseling approaches, which differ on how to help a client make a realistic decision, are evaluated for their relative effectiveness. Fifty subjects, randomly selected from a population of students which expressed a need for educational/vocational counseling were assigned to either the reinforcement or the persuasive advice-giving treatment…

A case study of a learning disabled 8-year-old with behavior disturbancs is presented to highlight the use of operant conditioning in cutting down educational costs and easing the teacher's class management problems. (CL)

This module facilitates acquaintance with the application of behavioral principles in the classroom. It contains: (1) a pretest; (2) knowledge-based objectives and enabling activities; (3) demonstration-based objectives and enabling activities; (4) instructional personnel decision points; (5) two models demonstrating use of the module; (6)…