Effective training programs for individuals with disabilities often involve the use of positive reinforcement. Social interactions have many benefits over other forms of reinforcement, but more research is needed to determine how to identify social interactions that serve as reinforcers. In the first experiment, we evaluated the use of two…

One 9-year-old child was taught conditional discriminations between dictated names in Spanish and their corresponding pictures across three stimulus sets while her 10-year-old brother observed. Posttests revealed the emergence of symmetry relations in the form of oral naming skills by both children. (Contains 2 figures.)

Presenting college students, in a wide variety of content areas, with frequent announced and unannounced quizzes appears to correlate positively with enhanced test performance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine if similar results can be achieved with high school students in a standard economics class. Based on a theoretical…

Sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies was examined in six individuals with mental retardation using a concurrent operants procedure in the context of a computer game. Results included individual differences in sensitivity and differential sensitivity to rate and magnitude variation. Results suggest that comprehensive assessments of potential…

Describing the state of the science of ABA, this comprehensive handbook provides detailed information about theory, research, and intervention. The contributors are leading ABA authorities who present current best practices in behavioral assessment and demonstrate evidence-based strategies for supporting positive behaviors and reducing problem…

Areas of controversy covered center around the nature of the disorder, the effects of drugs, and methodological problems. Alternative approaches offered focus on evaluation and remedial techniques. (DLS)

A profoundly retarded 28-year-old female was trained to avoid an aversive but harmless shock to the foot by withdrawing the foot upon presentation of a visual cue. (Author/SBH)

Technology has been used to measure visual acuity with the severely or profoundly mentally retarded child. The following categories of technology have been used for assessment: the recording of visual fixation within the habituation paradigm; equipment to measure eye movements and pursuits; operant techniques; and electrodiagnostic techniques…

The paper describes the use of an operant procedure to assess the speech perception of 11 young (7 to 35 months old) hearing impaired children and 11 normally hearing subjects. Subjects were presented with a repeating background stimulus and conditioned to turn their head on presentation of a contrasting syllable. The head-turning responses were…

To establish diagnostic criteria, 12 fire-raising or pyromaniac children (7-15 years old) were compared with 12 control students matched for age, sex, and intellect. Six diagnostic procedures, including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, the Lowenstein Fire Raising Diagnostic Test, and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, were used to…

The Training Proficiency Scale, designed to evaluate the competence of a trainer utilizing operant conditioning techniques with the mentally handicapped, is described in terms of its need, development, reliability and validity qualities, and four areas of assessment (shaping behavior, rewarding, communicating, and rapport). The scale is presented…

Directed to professionals with a basic knowledge of audiological principles, the text presents a review of audiological assessment procedures and their applicability to the retarded. Pure-tone, speech, and Bekesy audiometry are described. Also discussed are differential diagnosis of auditory impairments, conditioning and audiological assessment,…