After a brief review of the literature the research proposal focuses on the comparative effectiveness of non-verbal positive reinforcement vs. verbal negative reinforcement in the reduction of self-inflicted injury on 23 elementary age autistic children. In the two phase study each child would be paired by age, sex, length of time in school,…

IN AN ATTEMPT TO MODIFY OR SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCE UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOR IN NURSERY SCHOOL CHILDREN, A TEACHING TECHNIQUE WAS INTRODUCED WHEREIN THE TEACHER WOULD ATTEND TO THE CHILD ONLY WHEN THE CHILD WAS MANIFESTING ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR AND WOULD IGNORE THE CHILD WHEN HE WAS MANIFESTING UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOR. IT WOULD THEN BE POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE…

Eighty-six Negro and Mexican-American children were divided into experimental and control groups in a study designed to learn the effects of an 8-week summer Head Start program on the achievement motive of these children. The study was based on McClelland's theory of achievement motive and the models of Atkinson and Aronson. Children were…

Experimental modification of destructive and assaultive sibling interaction was carried out within the home environment. Two brothers (6 and 3 years old) were treated through token positive reinforcement techniques in an effort to improve their behavior towards each other. A "time out" from reinforcement procedures involved an isolation period for…

Response-cost refers to a procedure whereby a positive reinforcer is lost or some penalty is invoked following a specific misbehavior. In an alternate procedure called Differential Reinforcement of Other Responses (DRO), a reinforcing stimulus is delivered when a particular response is not emitted for a specific interval of time. This study…

Presented is a series of studies in which the efficacy of applying operant conditioning methodologies to the problem of stuttering was examined. One requirement was that the designed therapeutic programs utilize only verbal contingent stimuli (reinforcers and punishers) in the traditional therapeutic setting (client and therapist seated together…

A study was conducted to determine competencies which teacher trainees should master. The following five competencies were hypothesized as important influences on learning disabled (LD) students' learning of word-attack skills: stating behavioral objectives, matching instruction to objectives, teaching rather than dispensing instruction, positive…

The personality disposition of the motive to avoid success (Horner, 1968) is evaluated on theoretical and empirical ground. A situational interpretation is proposed as a more parsimonious explanation of the phenomenon. Presented are a series of studies examining the behavioral effects of the motive to avoid success: anxiety manifesting itself as a…

The influence of an individual's cognitive style on hypothesis testing behavior was investigated. Thirty analytic and 30 global subjects each solved 24, 16-trial problems with intermittent reinforcement, i.e., E said "right" or "wrong" after every fifth response. Results indicated that the analytic subjects solved more problems…

A system of task analysis and positive reinforcement was used in the vocational training of a 19-year-old trainable retarded youth (MA=6 years). The task of polishing shoe skates was analyzed and programmed into 29 steps and was reinforced with praise and money. The trainee learned the task in 13 sessions (approximately 1 month) and was employed…

Four selected subtests from the WISC, Arithmetic, Digit Span, Picture Arrangement and Block Design, were administered to 111 pupils in the third and fourth grades at Florida State University Elementary School. Social reinforcers, i.e., verbal approval and disapproval, were systematically presented to the examinees after specified items and between…

This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of peers in reducing the isolation of preschool children who exhibited very little or no interaction with peers. Selection of subjects was made on the basis of quantity of verbal behavior and amount and quality of classroom play. In a 15-minute dyad play situation which maximized the…

To differentiate behaviorally, success-strivers and failure-avoiders within a group of educable mentally handicapped, two experiments were conducted. The effects of learning potential status (gainers, nongainers, high scorers) and motivational style (success strivers, failure avoiders) on discrimination learning when reinforcement was varied was…

This document reports an investigation of the relationship between maternal practices as observed in the home and the cognitive development of young children from low-income families. The purpose of the study was to determine if lower-class maternal warmth was associated with intellectual growth of the child. Fifty-two lower class mothers were…

A study was conducted to determine the effect of reimbursement of expenses on the recruitment, training, and holding of volunteer leaders in the youth phase of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program in Kansas City. The experiment was conducted at six program sites during the summer and spring program operations, which consisted of showing eight…