A defining feature of behavior therapy is its application of general psychological principles and its consequent responsiveness to developments in general psychology. However, there are indications that a new movement already labeled in behavioral circles as "affect in the eighties" may be influencing the cognitive behavior therapy of…

The functioning of the semi-autonomous learning system (SAAS) at the Centre de Recherches et d'Applications Pedagogiques en Langues (CRAPEL) was surveyed for the academic year 1980-81. Detailed data were collected about learners' aims, language level, and their assessment of the SAAS, as well as about the way they actually used the system. This…

Areas of behavioral and social science research that have achieved significant breakthroughs in knowledge or application or that show future promise of achieving such breakthroughs are discussed in 12 papers. For example, the paper on formal demography shows how mathematical or statistical techniques can be used to explain and predict change in…

Personality and physiological, cognitive, and environmental factors have all been suggested as critical variables in smoking cessation and relapse. Weight gain and the fear of weight gain after smoking cessation may also prevent many smokers from quitting. A sample of 45 adult smokers participated in a study in which three levels of preventive…

The effectiveness of a peer-modeling treatment in the modification of impulsive cognitive style and in the improvement of academic performance in the areas of reading, spelling and arithmetic is investigated in this study. In four single case experiments, eight fifth grade children identified by the Matching Families Figures Test Form 20 (MFF20)…

Twelve papers focus on issues involving severe behavior disorders in the schools and autism. The following papers are included: "Behavioral Ecology--A Unifying Strategy for the '80s" (F. Hewett); "Academic Skill Development--The Promise of Modeling Strategies" (R. Gable, J. Hendrickson); "Future Directions in Self-Control Research" (R. Rueda);…

Noting that teachers wishing to increase students' listening skills must focus on modification of specific causes of ineffective communication behavior rather than theorizing about generic symptoms, this paper describes a competency oriented approach for improving listening skills. The paper first provides a rationale for improving listening…

Assertive training is a set of procedures that the counselor can use to help clients, in particular women, to achieve a greater sense of freedom and personal satisfaction in a wide variety of life situations. Especially in the world of work, the occupational behavior of women is often hampered not only by existing structural barriers but also by…

The paper addresses the nature of the physical environment of classrooms for young handicapped children. Research is cited on the factors important in successful interventions in five areas (sample subtopics in parentheses): social interaction (materials that promote interaction, staff-child ratios); language learning (importance of engaging…

Families experiencing severe conflict are often unable to effectively implement applied behavioral procedures due to interfering emotional responses (anger, blaming, anxiety and depression) and behavioral responses (yelling, crying and physical fighting), which often reduce effective implementation of applied behavioral procedures. Specific…

Englewood Learning Center in Chicago provides programs for severely and profoundly handicapped children (5 to 17 years old) in an urban area where many families live in subpoverty conditions. The program requires families to be involved in the individualized education program process and in the whole range of educational services. The program…

Two adolescent boys with a history of rapidly increasing obesity participated in a behavioral weight reduction program. The multi-dimensional treatment package consisted of those behavioral techniques most often shown to be effective in treating obese adults (programed behavior management and stimulus control instructions, self monitoring of daily…

FIFTY-FOUR TEST-ANXIOUS COLLEGE FRESHMEN FROM STANFORD UNIVERSITY WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ONE OF THREE GROUPS--(1) A DESENSITIZATION GROUP WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALIZED ANXIETY HIERARCHIES, (2) A DESENSITIZATION GROUP WORKING WITH A SINGLE STANDARD HIERARCHY, AND (3) A NO-TREATMENT CONTROL GROUP. THE CRITERIA CONSISTED OF SELF-RATINGS OF ANXIETY…

Since a fundamental problem of acting--fear--is a fundamental human problem, the basic job of acting teachers is to help their students become the kind of people who can act. Acting teachers need to help their students cast off their fears, free their bodies and their imaginations, and learn all the skills of self-knowledge, self-control, and…

Kindergarten children were exposed to a behavior modification training activity involving perceptual scanning, which was designed to increase the field-independent mode of perception. The training was evaluated, based upon a group of 18 experimental subjects and a control group of 17 children. Subjects in the training group were individually…