Investigated extent to which information within context of regular coursework affects acceptability ratings by prospective teachers of four behavioral interventions (differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviors, home-based reinforcement, ignoring, time-out). Prelecture acceptability ratings showed no differences between experimental…

The study of staff acceptability of behavioral interventions for self injurious behavior (SIB) in persons with severe/profound mental retardation indicated that: accelerative interventions were more acceptable than reductive treatments; acceptability of treatments varied as a function of SIB severity; and client status and type of work setting did…

An alternating treatments design was used to compare gentle teaching, visual screening, and a task-training condition in the reduction of high-level stereotypy of three persons (aged 7, 21, and 28) with mental retardation. Visual screening produced the greatest and most consistent decrease, while gentle teaching was found to have limited…

Participants were 206 low-to-middle-income Mexican-American and non-Hispanic families (623 individuals) recruited through their children's elementary school. Half the families undertook yearlong programs to decrease high salt and fat food intake and increase exercise. Two years later, experimental groups gained more knowledge of dietary and…

Results are reported from a study in which Cognitive Behavior Modification (CBM) was used successfully to modify the behavior of students (N=55) with mild behavior problems. This method teaches individuals to reinforce or rebuke themselves for their own behavior. Also outlined are steps in implementing a CBM program. (IAH)

Saint Louis University's efforts to develop and implement a comprehensive sexual harassment training program as the foundation for a cultural influence process is described. The use of the training program as the foundation of a normative-reeducative process of change is described. (MLW)

Observed the accuracy of self-recording of on-task behavior by five special education students. Found high accuracy when reinforcers were used, but accuracy declined sharply in the self-reinforcement condition after repeated exposure. (FMW)

Assigned test-anxious fourth and fifth graders (N=66) to a cognitive monitoring training or a control group. Pretreatment, posttreatment, and six-week follow-up measures revealed no significant differences between groups on either the self-report measure of test anxiety or the Metropolitan Achievement Test. (Author/ABL)

A forward graduated guidance procedure was used to increase the independent dressing skills of two profoundly multihandicapped adolescents living in a noninstitutional environment. One subject reached criterion and treatment gains generalized to other settings. The other subject failed to reach criterion but required fewer prompts after training.…

The study evaluated the indirect effects on stereotypic behavior frequency of several fixed-interval reinforcement schedules on behaviors of three profoundly retarded adults. Stereotypic behavior increased in direct relation to the interval length suggesting such behaviors may be partially controlled by reinforcement frequency for adaptive…

Curricular activity preference was determined for 3 students (ages 9-15) with moderate intellectual disabilities. Subsequent evaluation of the influence of activity preference on student behavior revealed that preferred activities were associated with reduced levels of problem behavior and increased levels of desirable behaviors. (Author/JDD)

Evaluates the impact of self-management procedures on attention to task and reading comprehension of elementary-age students. The overall outcomes indicate substantial increases in on-task behavior during the self-management phases, and academic accuracy in reading comprehension also improved for all subjects. (JPS)

There are strong theoretical and empirical rationales for believing that psychological processes are integral to the maintenance of smoking behavior. A comprehensive treatment program for chronic cigarette smokers must have, at its foundation, interventions addressing the psychological processes that maintain smoking. The article examines the…

This article examines the concept of negative reinforcement in relation to the maintenance of off-task and disruptive behaviors in classrooms. Suggestions are given for determining whether negative reinforcement (in the form of escape from the instructional task) or teacher attention is maintaining the behavior. Suggestions for making tasks less…

Evaluated the ability of propranolol hydrochloride to enhance results achieved with relaxation-biofeedback training. Results suggest that concomitant propranolol therapy (CPT) significantly enhanced the effectiveness of relaxation-biofeedback training. CPT also yielded larger reductions in analgesic use and greater improvements in quality-of-life…