The author examines those potential negative effects that appear to be intrinsically associated with behavior therapy. The behavior therapist faces the potential danger of encouraging what is likely to be reinforced by the client's environment, thereby maintaining a societal status quo which, in itself, may be harmful. The author mentions the use of reinforcement procedures with children, and assertive training for women to illustrate his point. His concern with reinforcement procedures for children, particularly with token economics, is whether therapists are perpetuating within these children strong expectations for approval from others, which may have long-range negative effects. Regarding assertive training for women, he notes that, until recently, assertive training was used less frequently for females than men, since assertive behavior was not viewed as appropriate for women. He advises the therapist to discuss openly the consequences of new behavior patterns with all clients. (Author/HMV)