TWO EXPERIMENTS WERE PERFORMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF RELATIVE NOVELTY ON CHOICE BEHAVIOR. IN THE FIRST, 48 CHILDREN OF MEAN AGE 4.4 YEARS WERE PREEXPOSED TO 1 OF 2 SETS OF TOYS FOR 0, 1, 3, OR 5 MINUTES. EACH WAS THEN GIVEN 10 OPPORTUNITIES TO PLAY WITH 1 SET FOR 30 SECONDS. THE MEAN NUMBER OF CHOICES OF THE NOVEL SET INCREASED WITH THE…

Determines whether subliminal perception can be used as a means for altering cigarette smoking behavior. Smoking behavior was not altered through subliminal perception as carried out in this study. There was evidence that smoking behavior was altered, but it was an unpredicted change. Some subjects decreased smoking patterns. (Author)

An experimental treatment approach to teaching alcoholics controlled drinking utilizing a multi-modal treatment approach is presented. This approach included aversion conditioning contingent upon emission of such undesirable drinking behaviors as gulping, drinking straight drinks, Blood Alcohol Level of 0.065 or greater, and time between drinks.…

Suggests that man cannot survive without a system of some kind for predicting the course of events. It does not matter that the system may be false on another system's terms, so long as it identifies experiences in a way which enables people to attach meaning to them and respond. (Author/AM)

One snake-phobic woman and one spider-phobic woman, after having received systematic desensitization, were exposed to a live snake or spider in a caged or an uncaged condition. The implications of these findings for the external validity of the behavioral approach test are discussed. (EJT)

This book, written for students, teachers (clinicians), and researchers, presents a behavioral interpretation of language, a resultant teaching strategy, and data from eight years of experience with the method. The first chapter of the book presents a behavioral description of the critical concepts involved in language training and puts forth a…

This chapter describes the theoretical and methodological foundations of behavior modification, the behavioral analysis of the retarded child and teaching programs for retarded children. (Author/RK)

Reinforcers lose their effectiveness when they are presented repeatedly. Early researchers labeled this loss of effectiveness as "satiation" without conducting an experimental analysis. When such an analysis is conducted, "habituation" provides a more precise and empirically accurate label for the changes in reinforcer effectiveness. This paper…

This paper focuses on an analysis of relationships among interactive behavior, interactive decision making, and interactive processing of information about pupils as perceived by teachers in the course of a lesson. Three teachers participated in the study. In response to a general request to state their plans for the lesson, the teachers…