The classroom teacher should be proficient in the use of the operant conditioning principles of positive reinforcement and extinction. An eight-step outline of one approach to modifying classroom behavior uses and builds on these principles. People have been afraid to use scientific knowledge of human behavior because of their fear of being…

The paper briefly explains operant conditioning as it pertains to special educators. Operant conditioning is thought to be an efficient method for modifying student behavior. Using the B. F. Skinner frame of reference, operant conditioning is said to include behavior modification and therapy, programed instruction, and computer assisted and…

THE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC OPERANT AND MODELING PRINCIPLES ON INCREASING ATTENTIVE (TASK-ORIENTED) CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR OF HYPERACTIVE CHILDREN WERE STUDIED. THE METHODS OF BEHAVIORAL MODIFICATION USED IN THE STUDY WERE DISCRIMINATION-MODELING AND OPERANT CONDITIONING. SUBJECTS WERE 24 STUDENTS FROM GRADES 1 THROUGH 4 WHO WERE JUDGED HYPERACTIVE BY…

Three experiments were conducted in a variety of settings to test the effectiveness of differential reinforcement of other behavior in reducing high rates of inappropriate behavior in 6 mildly and severely retarded children (8-14 years old). (Author/CL)

A 13-year-old congenitally blind black girl was involved in a study designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of a longitudinal behavior modification approach in extinguishing "blindisms" (persistent autistic-like behaviors) in a variety of settings. (SB)

Describes the Dorm 5 experiment at Windham College, Putney, Vermont, designed to create a living environment to assure individual rights and intellectual values through positive reinforcement techniques following operant conditioning. Problems of vandalism and noise were solved as physical space was utilized to meet student needs for social and…

An overview is presented of systematic behavioral analysis as a method for modifying both social and cognitive behaviors through reinforcement. Various techniques are explained: response differentiation, shaping, chaining, fading, extinction, timeout, and response cost. (SJL)

The article reviews the recent literature dealing with teaching autistic children acceptable behaviors using behavior modification techniques. (DLS)

Four case studies demonstrate the management of inappropriate behavior of severely handicapped clients (14-21 years old) in a prevocational training program. (CL)

Two autistic boys, ages 6 and 10 years, whose imitative responding was functionally inaccurate and whose performance generalized poorly, were trained to imitate accurately using a reinforcement-extinction strategy. (DLS)

Concerns the effects of instructions on classical conditioning of the GSR (galvanic skin response). It demonstrates that verbal conditioning of the GSR can be obtained using an innocuous unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Discusses implications for theories of human classical conditioning. (Editor/RK)

The use of operant procedures was extended to decrease immediate echolalia and increase appropriate responding to questions of a 21-year-old autistic man. Multiple baseline designs demonstrated that echolalia was rapidly replaced with correct stimulus-specific responses. A variety of generalized improvements were observed in verbal responses to…

The present case study describes a toilet training program planned, developed, and implemented within a sheltered workshop. The client was a severely retarded woman for whom incontinence had been a life-long problem. The ease with which the program was carried out recommends its use with similar client problems. (Author)