Investigated were the effects of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) and response cost (RC) on the attending behavior of a learning disabled (LD) 7-year-old and a behavior disordered 10-year-old. The differential effects of the DRO contingency in the two case studies were attributed to differences in the reinforcement schedules.…

The author presents a critique of twentieth-century behaviorism and humanism as educational theories. He argues that the techniques of both lead to unwarranted intervention in individual lives and ceaseless human engineering. (SK)

A token reinforcement program at a residential center operates on a point card system which measures daily work quality and attitude, academic involvement, self-maintenance, peer and adult interactions, and self-control in behavior disordered children. Issues in the program's administration, including unresponsiveness and use of daily feedback,…

Investigated the active components of covert positive reinforcement that consisted of an S-R modality, a reinforcement procedure, and a demand for expectancy of success. Results of the behavioral avoidance test indicated that subjects in the overt S-R modality groups approached closer to the rat. (Author)

Evaluated effects of perceived freedom of choice on behavior change. Subjects were assigned to groups that varied in amount of perceived choice in determining training procedures. Subjects who perceived that they were given choice in training procedures improved significantly more than subjects who lost freedom of choice. (Author/BEF)

Studied use of electromyographic (CMG) biofeedback to increase efficacy of cue-controlled relaxation training in treatment of test anxiety. Results indicated cue-controlled relaxation was effective in increasing test performance for test-anxious subjects. EMG biofeedback did not contribute to effectiveness. Self-report measures of anxiety are…

Explores whether training can affect the illusory correlation. Materials used by Chapman and Chapman (1969) were used. Attempts were made to influence the illusory correlation by providing a simulated training session. Training was no more effective than nontraining in reducing this phenomenon. This is consistent with Chapman and Chapman (1969).…

A package treatment program to reduce cigarette smoking was compared to a single treatment condition. Following treatment and posttesting, booster sessions were introduced. The package condition produced higher abstinence rates and lower percentages of baseline smoking after six months than other treatment conditions. Booster sessions had no…

The author reviews three topics featured in his first Behavior Modification column: pupil management, social validation, and nondiscriminatory testing. Two new topics are also discussed: data and decisions, and program evaluation. (Author)

The Student Management through Incentives concept can help to establish a system of discipline that is both positive and preventive. A gradient of student privileges allows for individual differences and a student log card system provides for student monitoring and offers students with inappropriate behavior a way to redeem themselves. (Author/WD)

Stress management training can be a cost effective way to improve productivity and job performance. Among many relaxation techniques, the most effective in terms of teachability, participant motivation, and profitability are self-hypnosis, progressive relaxation, and transcendental meditation. (SK)

The authors describe a remedial technique for teaching letter formation to students with handwriting difficulties. The approach blends traditional procedures (modeling, physical prompts, tracing, self correction, etc.) with cognitive behavior modification principles. (CL)

The practice of behavior modification in a residential treatment center for 60 emotionally disturbed children (6 to 14 years old) is described, based on the authors' observations over 18 months. Particular attention is given to the influence of context and situation as staff members count units of behavior, report their findings, and meet with…

The multimodal model uses the acronym BASIC ID to identify areas of client functioning that frequently need to be treated. The D mode includes drugs, diet, and other physiological factors. This article describes the evolution of the D mode and shows the importance of a physiological dimension to multimodal counseling. (Author)

Using speech anxiety as the target behavior, this study compared two self-control desensitization procedures. Speech-anxious community residents (N=42) volunteered for participation in the program and were seen within a group context for a total of seven therapy sessions. No differential effectiveness was found between the two desensitization…