A three-stage model of marital enrichment designed to maximize valid effects and integrate participants' attitudinal and behavioral changes is presented. Goals of the three stages are differentiated; their advantages and limitations are discussed. Suggestions for well-designed research on the sequential model are presented. (Author)

Results suggested that although overcorrection is a valuable technique in reducing stereotyped behavior in profoundly retarded adults, the overcorrection responses (e.g., restitutional acts, positive practice, functional movement training) may not increase in the absence of specific reinforcement contingencies. (DLS)

The free play behavior of young children allows the opportunity to actively explore, investigate, and manipulate features of the adult world, and to assimilate the characteristics of novel aspects of the environment. (Author)

Comparison is made between drinking patterns and opinions on alcohol consumption and family and social backgrounds of college students. (JD)

Describes a two-year experiment to begin in July 1977 in which a Yugoslavian, Milutin Veljkovic, will stay underground to study the human physiological and psychological adjustment to the isolation of the cave. Only contact with outside world will be a computer terminal linked to researchers above ground. (CS)

Three models of behavioral effects of genetic disorders characterized by mental retardation were compared: (1) no-specific effect model (all genetic disorders have identical behavioral outcomes); (2) totally specific model (each genetic disorder has unique outcomes); and (3) partially specific model (two or more genetic disorders share outcomes…

Forty-nine foster children with behavioral problems who were referred to therapy were compared to 19 normal children in foster care. Results found that the age of the child when placed in care, the number of placements, and the type of placement affected the need for therapy. (CR)

Research reports are reviewed which illustrate the close ties between creativity and entrepreneurship. Comparisons of the characteristics and behavior typical of creative individuals and entrepreneurial individuals indicate the existence of striking similarities. (JDD)

Examines how strategic communication is linked to specific relational features. Finds that integrative strategies were positively linked to competence, whereas distributive and avoidant strategies were negatively linked to competence. Supports the view that competence perceptions mediate the link between conflict messages and relational outcomes.…

This study compared the effects of unequal and equal reinforcer duration during a functional analysis of aberrant behavior in an 11-year old with moderate mental retardation. Results showed that reinforcer duration affects the rate of aberrant behavior and may potentially alter functional analysis interpretation. (DB)

The successful application of functional analysis to problem behavior suggests the need to examine: additional functional properties of behavior involving social avoidance, biological reinforcement, and respondent conditioning; the role of context (including social factors and biological factors); and the multidimensional character of assessment…

Functional assessment is redefining the standards for clinical interventions with problem behavior and reemphasizing the importance of basic behavioral mechanisms. It has shown the importance of complex patterns of behavioral control, functional assessment as an ongoing process, and the importance of attention to antecedent variables. Future…

A boy with severe mental retardation was unresponsive to his environment and spent 80% of his day body-rocking. Stereotyped body-rocking was greatly reduced via differential reinforcement of incompatible responding (DRI), physical restraint, and reprimand. (JDD)

Counteraggression is discussed as a biological function or survival instinct that escalates violence in schools. Expands Fritz Redl's explanation of underlying reasons why staff dealing with delinquent youth become counteraggressive. Preventing or controlling counteraggressive behavior through analysis of the reasons behind the reaction can help…

Observed rough-and-tumble play in young adolescent boys on the playground. Found that sociometrically defined average and rejected boys spent a greater portion of their time in rough play compared to popular boys and did so with children who were less dominant than they, suggesting that some children exploit play bouts for their own…