Discusses problems and methodology of diagnosis and counseling of college students with borderline personality disorder. Recommends that providing these students with structure through consistent limit setting can produce positive changes in their behavior. (Author/ABL)

This article reviews the literature regarding the diagnostic criteria, causes, assessment, and treatment of selective mutism in school-age children. The most successful treatments have included various forms or combinations of behavior modification, though these may not address the underlying problem. (Author/DB)

Performed a meta-analysis on 18 studies in which a cognitive-behavioral therapy was compared with the same therapy supplemented by hypnosis. Results indicated that hypnosis substantially enhanced treatment outcome, even though there were few procedural differences between the hypnotic and nonhypnotic treatments. Effects seemed particularly…

Six boys, aged 9 to 12, attended a tutoring class focusing on reading for 30 minutes each morning. Six, 10-day treatment periods were imposed that used various combinations of drug placebo, noncontingent reinforcers, 0.3 mg/kg methylphenidate, 0.7 mg/kg methylphenidate, and self-reinforcement. The combined effects of methylphenidate and…

This review focuses on correspondence training procedures, in which a subject makes statements about intended positive behavior and the statements are reinforced. The paper examines early research, generalization, maintenance, application to mentally retarded individuals, and the concept of self-control. (Author/JDD)

Three forms of auditory stimulation were compared as reinforcers with 13 severely mentally retarded adults performing a task to promote cardiovascular fitness. Subjects received stimulation if they pedalled at a specified rate above baseline performance. Results indicated that music was an effective reinforcer in promoting continuous work output,…

Describes a classroom demonstration using differential reinforcement to shape student participation in a small psychology laboratory. Concludes that the technique was useful for illustrating how reinforcers shape behavior. Suggests that the demonstration facilitated understanding of operant conditioning procedures and encouraged more equitable…

Examined effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral interventions to help adolescent boys cope with stress and other forms of negative emotional arousal. Compared nine boys in cognitive intervention group, eight boys in anxiety management training group, and eight controls. Compared to controls, both intervention groups showed significant reductions in…

Analysis of survey data from clinicians and administrators at a large state hospital/developmental center revealed two underlying constructs of work-related stress: lack of administrative control and practice-related stress. Philosophical opposition to behavior therapy predicted job stress. Working with individuals with mental retardation versus…

Eight behavioral management terms/concepts commonly encountered in the special education literature are defined and discussed in terms of commonly occurring confusions. They are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, extinction, differential reinforcement of other behavior, timeout, response cost, and overcorrection. (DB)

Randomly assigned depressed family caregivers (n=66) of frail elderly relatives to 20 sessions of cognitive-behavioral (CB) or brief psychodynamic (PD) individual psychotherapy. At posttreatment, 71% of caregivers were no longer clinically depressed, with no differences found between two treatments. Found interaction between treatment modality and…

The ability of 10 9-month-old infants with Down's syndrome to acquire a simple contingency was assessed. Unlike a group of nondisabled infants, the Down's syndrome infants did not, in general, learn the contingency. Results are related to the possibility of a decline in conditionability with age and a relationship between conditionability and…

The Competent Learner Model integrates direct instruction and behavior analysis practices to bring teachers to mastery of formulating, delivering, and monitoring effective instructional programing. The model focuses on the knowledge and skilled responding necessary for individuals to become competent learners, and employs a coaching format to…

Seven adults with severe to profound mental retardation participated in match-to-sample discrimination training under three conditions. Results indicated that error-correction procedures improve performance through negative reinforcement; that error correction may serve multiple functions; and that, for some subjects, trial repetition enhances…

Twelve mothers were videotaped interacting with their children, aged 13 months, and 100 maternal utterances were coded for pragmatic intent. Prescriptives were coded as either changing or following the child's focus of attention. Results show that, given a joint focus, directing a 13-month-old's behavior can have beneficial effects on subsequent…