bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ESTABLISHING USE OF DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES IN THE SPONTANEOUS SPEECH OF DISADVANTAGED PRESCHOOL CHILDREN1
Authors: Hart Betty M. , Risley Todd R.
Published: March 2006

From observer records, a count was made for each child, in a group of disadvantaged children in an experimental preschool, of usage and acquisition of descriptive adjectives, with and without noun referents. Procedures were sought which would effectively modify the low rates of adjective‐noun combinations in the everyday language of all the children. Time in school, intermittent teacher praise, and social and intellectual stimulation were not effective in changing the low rates of using adjectives of size and shape. Group teaching effectively increased rates of using color‐ and number‐noun combinations in the group‐teaching situation, but was ineffective in changing rates of usage in the children's “spontaneous” vocabularies. By operating directly on the children's language in the free‐play situation, making access to preschool materials contingent upon use of a color‐noun combination, significant increases in such usage were effected in the spontaneous vocabularies of all the children. Preschool materials apparently functioned as powerful reinforcers. Though traditional teaching procedures were effective in generating adjective‐noun combinations in that restricted situation, it was only through application of environmental contingencies that color names as descriptive adjectives were effectively and durably established in all the children's spontaneous vocabularies.
RULES, PRAISE, AND IGNORING: ELEMENTS OF ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM CONTROL1
Authors: Madsen Charles H. , Becker Wesley C. , Thomas Don R.
Published: March 2006

An attempt was made to vary systematically the behavior of two elementary school teachers to determine the effects on classroom behavior of Rules, Ignoring Inappropriate Behaviors, and showing Approval for Appropriate Behavior. Behaviors of two children in one class and one child in the other class were recorded by observers, as were samples of the teachers' behavior. Following baseline recordings, Rules, Ignoring, and Approval conditions were introduced one at a time. In one class a reversal of conditions was carried out. The main conclusions were that: (a) Rules alone exerted little effect on classroom behavior, (b) Ignoring Inappropriate Behavior and showing Approval for Appropriate Behavior (in combination) were very effective in achieving better classroom behavior, and (c) showing Approval for Appropriate Behaviors is probably the key to effective classroom management.
AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF VERBAL IMITATION IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN1
Authors: Brigham Thomas A. , Sherman James A.
Published: March 2006

A model presented English words to three preschool children and reinforced accurate imitation of these words. The model also presented novel Russian words but the subjects' imitation of these words was never reinforced. As long as the subjects' imitation of English words was reinforced, their accuracy of imitating non‐reinforced Russian words increased. When reinforcement was not contingent upon imitation of English words, accuracy of imitating both the English and the Russian words decreased. These results support and extend previous work on imitation.
OPERANT CONTROL OF EYE MOVEMENTS1
Authors: Schroeder Stephen R. , Holland James G.
Published: March 2006

In a monitoring situation eye movements were required in order for signals to be presented. Detection of signals was the reinforcement. A multiple schedule of fixed‐interval reinforcement, differential reinforcement of low rate, and fixed‐ratio reinforcement was established for eye movements. Results demonstrated that an eye movement can act as an operant controlled by its consequences. Operant control of eye movements has important implications for human factor analysts concerned with “attention”.
GENERALIZATION OF PUNISHMENT EFFECTS—A CASE STUDY
Authors: Birnbrauer J. S.
Published: March 2006

Response‐contingent electric shock was evaluated in a laboratory and criterion situation before using it to eliminate infrequent and unpredictable biting and destructive acts from the repertoire of a retarded adolescent. Although the initial results were dramatic, the effects of shock were highly discriminated and the therapeutic objectives were not accomplished. The study demonstrates the power and some limitations of shock punishment and is presented so that others will be better prepared for problems that may arise before the goals of a program involving shock punishment will be realized.
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL AND MATERIAL REINFORCERS IN INCREASING TALKING OF A DISADVANTAGED PRESCHOOL CHILD1
Authors: Reynolds Nancy J. , Risley Todd R.
Published: March 2006

Adult social reinforcement and access to materials in the preschool were made contingent on the verbalizations of a 4‐yr‐old Negro girl with an extremely low frequency of talking. Though the teachers' social attention was always given immediately for all spontaneous speech, if the child's spontaneous verbalizations were requests for materials, those materials were withheld until she had responded to the teachers' questions about those materials. When she was silent, the teachers withheld their attention and the materials. A high frequency of verbal behavior was quickly established. When both teacher attention and materials were provided only when the child was not verbalizing, the child's frequency of talking immediately decreased. When social attention and materials were again made contingent upon spontaneous speech and answering questions, the child's frequency of talking quickly increased to its previous high level. The content of the child's verbal behavior which increased was primarily a repetition of requests to the teachers with little change noted in the non‐request verbalizations, or verbalizations to other children. A further experimental analysis demonstrated that social interaction per se was not the reinforcer which maintained the increased verbalization; rather, for this child, the material reinforcers which accompanied the social interaction appeared to be the effective components of teacher attention.
MODIFICATION OF A CHILD'S PROBLEM BEHAVIORS IN THE HOME WITH THE MOTHER AS THERAPIST1
Authors: Zeilberger Jane , Sampen Sue E. , Sloane Howard N.
Published: March 2006

Differential consequences were used to increase obedience and decrease aggressive behavior in a four‐and‐one‐half year old boy. Treatment was conducted in the child's home by his mother.
APPLYING “GROUF” CONTINGENCIES TO THE CLASSROOM STUDY BEHAVIOR OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN1
Authors: Bushell Don , Wrobel Patricia Ann , Michaelis Mary Louise
Published: March 2006

A group of 12 children were enrolled in a preschool class. During the first experimental stage they participated in special events contingent on token earning. Tokens were acquired by engaging in a variety of study behaviors. After a level of study behavior was established under this contingency, the special events were provided noncontingently. Study behavior declined throughout the noncontingent stage. Reestablishing the original contingencies produced an immediate return to the initial level of study behavior. Noncontingent special events reduced the amount of independent study, group participation, and cooperative study. The study behavior of each child was altered in the same direction, though differences in the magnitude of effects from child to child were observed.
THE EFFECTS OF SHOCK AS A PUNISHER FOR CIGARETTE SMOKING1
Authors: Powell J. , Azrin N.
Published: March 2006

An attempt was made to reduce the cigarette smoking of three subjects by means of a special cigarette case that delivered aversive shock when opened. The number of cigarettes smoked was recorded by a counter in the cigarette case. The validity of the counter readings as a measure of smoking was obtained by a specially designed participant‐observer technique. It was found that the rate of smoking decreased as a function of the intensity of the shock. Also, the smoking returned to its previously unpunished level after the shock punisher was discontinued. Both of these findings confirm the results of laboratory studies of punishment of simpler responses and extends them to more complex responses in a naturalistic situation. Surprisingly, the duration for which the apparatus was worn also decreased as a function of the intensity of the shock. This finding reveals that this aversive shock technique produced avoidance behavior that prevents the technique from having extensive applicability for eliminating smoking. The same limitation may apply to the use of aversive shock for eliminating other undesirable behaviors.
FREE‐TIME AS A REINFORCER IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
Authors: Osborne J. Grayson
Published: March 2006

Six subjects, comprising one class at a school for the deaf, were given reinforcement consisting of time free from school work for remaining seated in the classroom. As a result, the frequency of leaving their chairs was sharply reduced. A second procedure presented free‐time not contingent on remaining seated. Little change was seen in the already lowered response rate. An extension of the time required to be seated with corresponding reduction in the number of daily free‐time periods did not reduce the effectiveness of the procedure. A one‐day observation after six weeks indicated that the procedure was still effective. A one‐day contingency reversal, requiring subjects to leave their chairs at least once during each seated period in order to receive free‐time, substantially raised the frequency of out‐of‐seat responses.
GOOD BEHAVIOR GAME: EFFECTS OF INDIVIDUAL CONTINGENCIES FOR GROUP CONSEQUENCES ON DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR IN A CLASSROOM1
Authors: Barrish Harriet H. , Saunders Muriel , Wolf Montrose M.
Published: March 2006

Out‐of‐seat and talking‐out behaviors were studied in a regular fourth‐grade class that included several “problem children”. After baseline rates of the inappropriate behaviors were obtained, the class was divided into two teams “to play a game”. Each out‐of‐seat and talking‐out response by an individual child resulted in a mark being placed on the chalkboard, which meant a possible loss of privileges by all members of the student's team. In this manner a contingency was arranged for the inappropriate behavior of each child while the consequence (possible loss of privileges) of the child's behavior was shared by all members of this team as a group. The privileges were events which are available in almost every classroom, such as extra recess, first to line up for lunch, time for special projects, stars and name tags, as well as winning the game. The individual contingencies for the group consequences were successfully applied first during math period and then during reading period. The experimental analysis involved elements of both reversal and multiple baseline designs.
A SELF‐PACED PROGRAMMED UNDERGRADUATE COURSE IN THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR
Authors: Lloyd Kenneth E. , Knutzen Norma J.
Published: March 2006

A method of programming a variety of assignments in a course was described. The instructions to students, the course assignments, and the grading system were presented in detail. The rate at which students performed the activities was examined. Different students began working at different times during the semester, but once a student began to complete assignments he continued to work at a rate comparable to all other students. No students stopped working after once beginning to work. The majority of the students liked the course despite being overworked. Several changes in the method were suggested based on the data from this course.
VIBRATION AS A REINFORCER WITH A PROFOUNDLY RETARDED CHILD1
Authors: Bailey Jon , Meyerson Lee
Published: March 2006

Data are presented which indicate that lever‐pressing behavior of a profoundly retarded child could be reinforced by the contingent application of vibratory stimulation for each response. With vibration available 24 hr per day, no decrement in daily rate of responding for vibration was seen over a three‐week period. Suggestions are made for further use of this finding in working with the profoundly retarded.
REINFORCING CAPABILITIES OF TELEVISION DISTORTION
Authors: Greene Robert J. , Hoats David L.
Published: March 2006

The effectiveness of television distortion as a negative reinforcer was analyzed. Contingency arrangements involving television distortion were found to be capable of (a) accelerating the work rate of a naive, mildly retarded subject on a simulated production‐line task involving card‐sorting, and (b) reducing gross hyperactivity of a mildly retarded subject. An escape‐avoidance contingency was arranged for the production‐line behavior of the first subject and a punishment contingency for the hyperactive behavior of the second subject. Television distortion appears to be an effective and practical negative reinforcer for use in behavior modification.
MANIPULATION OF SELF‐DESTRUCTION IN THREE RETARDED CHILDREN1
Authors: Lovaas O. Ivar , Simmons James Q.
Published: March 2006

The study attempted to isolate some of the environmental conditions that controlled the self‐destructive behavior of three severely retarded and psychotic children. In the extinction study subjects were placed in a room where they were allowed to hurt themselves, isolated from interpersonal contact. They eventually ceased to hurt themselves in that situation, the rate of self‐destruction falling gradually over successive days. In the punishment study, subjects were administered painful electric shock contingent on the self‐destructive behavior. (1) The self‐destructive behavior was immediately suppressed. (2) The behavior recurred when shock was removed. (3) The suppression was selective, both across physical locales and interpersonal situations, as a function of the presence of shock. (4) Generalized effects on other, non‐shock behaviors, appeared in a clinically desirable direction. Finally, a study was reported where self‐destructive behavior increased when certain social attentions were given contingent upon that behavior.
OPPOSITIONAL CHILDREN: A QUEST FOR PARENTAL REINFORCEMENT CONTROL1
Authors: Wahler Robert G.
Published: March 2006

The present study attempted to examine changes in parental reinforcement value as a function of parental use of timeout and differential attention. Subjects were two children classified by their parents as highly oppositional to parental requests or commands. Results showed that the children's oppositional behavior varied predictably with the presence and absence of parental use of timeout and differential attention. As expected, parental reinforcement value for the children was higher during treatment periods than during baseline periods.
CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT OF TOOTHBRUSHING BEHAVIOR IN A SUMMER CAMP FOR CHILDREN1
Authors: Lattal K. A.
Published: March 2006

The control of toothbrushing behavior by contingency management was studied with eight, 10 to 12‐yr‐old boys at a summer camp for children. This behavior occurred infrequently during baseline conditions with and without verbal instructions to the subjects to brush their teeth. Toothbrushing behavior was maintained at a high level when the behavior was required as a prerequisite for the opportunity to swim (contingency management). When, after 22 days, the contingency arrangement between toothbrushing and swimming was terminated, toothbrushing behavior returned to a low level.
AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR MEASURING PATIENT BEHAVIOR AND ITS USE BY STAFF1
Authors: Colman Arthur D. , Boren John J.
Published: March 2006

A behavioral measurement system was designed around a point economy for a psychiatric ward of delinquent patients. The characteristics of the system were: (1) the records of points earned for appropriate patient behavior formed the primary data. (2) After the points were recorded in a data matrix, graphs were prepared to show the behavior of individual patients, the participation of the patient group in the various ward activities, and an overall index of ward operation. (3) Several techniques were devised for reviewing the graphs so that the ward staff could evaluate the success of their procedures over substantial time periods.
AN INSTRUMENT FOR PRODUCING DEEP MUSCLE RELAXATION BY MEANS OF ANALOG INFORMATION FEEDBACK1
Authors: Budzynski Thomas H. , Stoyva Johann M.
Published: March 2006

An instrument that assists subjects in attaining deep muscle relaxation by means of analog information feedback is described. Subjects hear a tone with a pitch proportional to the electromyographic activity in a given muscle group. Results showed that subjects receiving this type of analog feedback reached deeper levels of muscle relaxation than those receiving either no feedback or irrelevant feedback. The basic method employed—electronic detection, immediate information feedback, and systematic shaping of responses—would seem potentially applicable to a variety of physiological events, and might be useful both in behavior therapy and in certain psychosomatic disorders.
THE APPLICATION OF OPERANT CONDITIONING TECHNIQUES IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM1
Authors: McAllister Loring W. , Stachowiak James G. , Baer Donald M. , Conderman Linda
Published: March 2006

The effects of teacher praise and disapproval on two target behaviors, inappropriate talking and turning around, were investigated in a high school English class of 25 students. The contingencies were applied to all students in the experimental class utilizing a multiple baseline experimental design in which the contingencies were aimed first at decreasing inappropriate talking behavior and then at decreasing inappropriate turning behavior. Observations were made of both student and teacher behavior. The results demonstrated that the combination of disapproval for the target behaviors and praise for appropriate, incompatible behaviors substantially reduced the incidence of the target behaviors in the experimental class. Observations of these behaviors in a control class of 26 students taught by the same teacher revealed no particular changes. The findings emphasize the importance of teacher‐supplied social contingencies at the secondary school level.
A FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE AND PRODUCTIVE SPEECH: ACQUISITION OF THE PLURAL MORPHEME1
Authors: Guess Doug
Published: March 2006

Operant conditioning procedures were applied to two retardates to establish receptive auditory plurals: correct pointing to single or paired objects was reinforced after hearing singular or plural labels. This training proceeded until an errorless (generative) criterion of correct performance was achieved. Unreinforced probes measuring expressive use of singulars and plurals were interspersed in this receptive training. Neither subject generalized from this receptive training to expressive plurals, in that each used singulars when labeling pairs. Then, both subjects were directly trained in conventional expressive plurals to an errorless (generative) criterion. The previous design was then repeated, but the receptive repertoire was reversed: pointing at pairs in response to singular labels was reinforced, and vice‐versa. Unreinforced probes of expressive plural usage again showed its independence of the current receptive repertoire in that conventional (unreversed) plural usage was displayed. Thus, the independence of the expressive repertoire (even when unreinforced) from the reinforced patterns of the receptive repertoire was demonstrated.
AN ELEMENTARY STUDENT AS A BEHAVIORAL ENGINEER1
Authors: Surratt Paul R. , Ulrich Roger E. , Hawkins Robert P.
Published: March 2006

Four first‐grade public school students exhibited non‐study behaviors during a period when all children were to study individually. A fifth‐grade student modified the maladaptive behaviors of the four first‐grade students. Lights on the four students' desks, which were associated with opportunity for reinforcement, rapidly brought study behavior under stimulus control. Differential reinforcement of other behaviors dramatically decreased studying. Reinforcement was reinstituted and studying returned to a high and stable rate. Surreptitious post‐experimental observation using closed‐circuit TV indicated that the behavioral changes effected during the experimental phases were partially maintained by the regular classroom environment. A replication of the baseline phase with the observer in the classroom produced an increase in the rate of study behavior, indicating that the observer's presence acted as a discriminative stimulus for studying. An additional contingency requiring improved academic behavior was imposed before the fifth grader was given the opportunity to engage in the behavior modification experiment.
INSTRUCTIONAL CONTROL OF AN AUTONOMIC SEXUAL RESPONSE1
Authors: Laws D. R. , Rubin H. B.
Published: March 2006

Four of seven human male subjects developed full penile erections when exposed to erotically stimulating motion pictures. Changes in penile size were detected by a mercury strain gauge transducer and automatically recorded on a continuous paper record. When instructed to inhibit penile erection in the presence of such effective stimulus films, every subject was able to reduce his erection by at least 50%. This inhibition was apparent as long as the instructions were in effect; when the instructions were removed and the film reshown, the erection returned almost to its maximum state. This was true whether the films were presented as few as three or as many as nine times in succession. When instructed to develop an erection in the absence of a film, every subject was able to do so, each reaching a peak of about 30% of his maximum. Such erections had longer latencies to the peak produced and lower maximum levels than those elicited by a film.
FEEDBACK TO ATTENDANTS AS A REINFORCER FOR APPLYING OPERANT TECHNIQUES1,2
Authors: Panyan Marion , Boozer Howard , Morris Nancy
Published: March 2006

After varying lengths of baseline, initiation of a feedback system increased the daily use of operant training methods by non‐professional hall personnel in a state institution for retarded children.
CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS OF SELF‐DETERMINED REINFORCEMENT
Authors: Glynn E. L.
Published: March 2006

Self‐determined, experimenter‐determined, and chance‐determined token reinforcement treatments were compared with a no‐token treatment, in terms of effect on the learning of history and geography material in the classroom. Each treatment was assigned to one of four heterogeneous classes of Grade nine girls. An initial baseline period preceded the differential reinforcement period, and a token withdrawal period followed. Subsequently, the self‐determined treatment was employed in all three token reinforcement classes, before a final baseline period occurred. Findings included a similarity of initial baseline performance for all classes, an equal superiority of self‐determined and experimenter‐determined treatments to chance‐determined and no‐token treatments, and significant improvement from initial baseline to final baseline for self‐determined and experimenter‐determined treatments, but not chance‐determined and no‐token treatments. Differential token reinforcement experience was found to influence subsequent rate of self‐determined token reinforcement.
OPERANT TRAINING AND GENERALIZATION OF A VERBAL RESPONSE FORM IN A SPEECH‐DEFICIENT CHILD
Authors: Wheeler Andrew J. , Sulzer Beth
Published: March 2006

A subject who spoke essentially in “telegraphic” English, leaving out most articles and auxiliary verbs, was trained to use a particular sentence form that included the articles and verbs to describe a set of standardized pictures. The subject used the trained sentence form to describe the trained pictures, and in addition, use of the sentence form generalized to sets of untrained and novel stimuli. When the trained sentence form was changed, the subject used the new form to describe both training and generalization stimuli. When the original correct form of response was retrained, the subject once again used the trained sentence form to respond to both training and generalization trials.
THE EXPERIMENTAL MODIFICATION OF TEACHER ATTENDING BEHAVIOR1
Authors: Cooper Margaret L. , Thomson Carolyn L. , Baer Donald M.
Published: March 2006

A method of observing and modifying teacher attention to appropriate child responses in preschool classrooms was developed. Two teachers with no formal training in reinforcement principles were observed for a baseline of eight days. Teacher A, who displayed a lower baseline rate of attending to appropriate child responses, was trained first. Teacher B was simply observed during the first part of the training condition for Teacher A. During training, A received feedback which included definitions of appropriate child responses, her frequency of attending to appropriate child responses, her total percentage of attending to appropriate child responses, and her frequency of failing to attend to appropriate child responses. Teacher B was then trained in a similar way. Both teachers showed an increase in attending to appropriate child responses subsequent to the onset of experimental feedback.
THE EFFECTS OF TOKEN PROCEDURES ON A TEACHERS SOCIAL CONTACTS WITH HER STUDENTS1
Authors: Mandelker Annabel V. , Brigham Thomas A. , Bushell Don
Published: March 2006

The effects of a token system on a teacher's rate of social contacts with her students were investigated in a public school kindergarten. A group of six children were observed daily during a 20‐min handwriting lesson. The children were divided into two groups (A and B) of three children each. Five conditions were imposed sequentially: (1) baseline without tokens, (2) contingent tokens for Group A, noncontingent tokens for Group B, (3) contingent tokens for Group B, noncontingent tokens for Group A, (4) reinstatement of condition 2, and (5) contingent tokens for both groups. It was consistently observed that the teacher's rate of social contact was higher with the children receiving the contingent tokens than with those who received noncontingent tokens.
EFFECTS OF TEACHER ATTENTION ON ATTENDING BEHAVIOR OF TWO BOYS AT ADJACENT DESKS1
Authors: Broden Marcia , Bruce Carl , Mitchell Mary Ann , Carter Virginia , Hall R. Vance
Published: March 2006

The effects of teacher attention on the attending behavior of two boys seated at adjacent desks were investigated. Baseline records were obtained of the appropriate attending behavior of two boys who were described as the most disruptive pupils in a second‐grade classroom of a poverty area school. During the first experimental phase, the teacher systematically increased the amount of attention for appropriate attending in one of the pair, Edwin. This resulted in a dramatic increase in his attending rate and a lesser, though significant, increase in attending behavior of the second boy, Greg. During the second experimental phase, systematic attention for attending was instituted for Greg and was discontinued for Edwin. This resulted in further increases in attending by Greg and a reduction in attending by Edwin. A brief withdrawal of reinforcement for attending in both Greg and Edwin reduced attending levels for both. Following this reversal appropriate attending for both boys was systematically reinforced and attending returned to high levels.
BEHAVIORAL ENGINEERING: CONTROL OF POSTURE BY INFORMATIONAL FEEDBACK1
Authors: O'Brien F. , Azrin N. H.
Published: March 2006

The effects of informational feedback on a socially undesirable behavior were studied. The feedback was a mild vibrotactile stimulus and the response was slouching. When subjects slouched, a behavioral engineering apparatus provided vibrotactile stimulation to the shoulder. All subjects slouched less when stimulation was provided. A procedural control revealed that slouching will decrease because of the informational aspect of the stimulus consequence and not because of its aversive properties. When the subjects were instructed to slouch, the effects of feedback were reversed: feedback increased, rather than decreased, slouching. These results indicate that the effect of feedback for a response depends on the subject's motivation to perform that response. It is suggested that informational feedback could be used more widely as a therapeutic procedure to modify human behaviors, but only those behaviors that a patient is strongly motivated to change.
AN ANALYSIS OF GENERALIZED IMITATION1
Authors: Burgess Robert L. , Burgess Judy M. , Esveldt Karen C.
Published: March 2006

An experimenter presented English words to three intermediate‐level children and reinforced accurate imitation of these words. The experimenter also presented novel Spanish words, but the imitation of these words was never experimentally reinforced. One subject quickly ceased performing non‐reinforced imitative responses. The other two subjects were exposed to a series of conditions designed to facilitate discrimination. Upon observing the first subject for one session they immediately ceased imitating Spanish demonstrations. For all three subjects, when reinforcement was delivered for responses other than imitation, all imitative responses eventually ceased. When reinforcement was reintroduced for English imitations there was an immediate resumption of such responses to their previous 100% level. The occurrence of non‐reinforced imitations in this and previous studies was discussed as being a function of one or combination of four variables: (1) similarity acquiring conditioned reinforcing properties, or (2) instructional, (3) coincidental, or (4) conditional stimulus generalization.
DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF A PROGRAMMED COURSE IN INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY1
Authors: Sheppard W. C. , MacDermot H. G.
Published: March 2006

The design of a programmed course in introductory psychology, utilizing an interview procedure, is described. The performance of students in this course was compared with that of students covering the same subject matter but taught in a more conventional manner. Students in the experimental course scored significantly higher on objective and essay final examinations and rated the course more positively.
REINFORCING SELF‐HELP GROUP ACTIVITIES OF WELFARE RECIPIENTS1
Authors: Miller L. Keith , Miller Ocoee L.
Published: March 2006

The attendance rates of welfare recipients at self‐help group meetings was compared when supplementary reinforcement was given for attending and when it was not. Reinforcers included donated items, such as clothing and household goods, and information about welfare services. It was found that the attendance at meetings averaged three recipients per meeting without reinforcement and 15 recipients per meeting with reinforcement. There was evidence that attendance was associated with participation in other self‐help activities. It was concluded that practical forms of reinforcement can be found to maintain the participation of severely disadvantaged populations in self‐help groups.
IMPROVEMENT OF RETARDATES' MEALTIME BEHAVIORS BY TIMEOUT PROCEDURES USING MULTIPLE BASELINE TECHNIQUES2
Authors: Barton Elizabeth Spindler , Guess Doug , Garcia Eugene , Baer Donald M.
Published: March 2006

Undesirable mealtime behaviors of a hospital cottage of retardates were reduced by contingent timeout procedures applied by ward personnel successively to one undesirable behavior after another, in a multiple baseline design. In some cases the timeout procedure was to remove the subject from the room until the meal was finished; in other cases (depending on the health of the child and the initial rate of the behavior to be reduced), timeout consisted of a 15‐sec removal of the child's meal tray. Undesirable behaviors were defined as stealing, using fingers inappropriately, messy use of utensils, and pigging (eating directly with mouth or eating spilled food). Timeout was applied to these behaviors in that order, and in each case led to a marked and useful reduction in the behavior throughout the group. As these undesirable behaviors were reduced, more appropriate mealtime behaviors emerged: as inappropriate use of fingers declined (under contingent timeout), messy utensil behavior increased; later, as messy utensil behavior declined (under contingent timeout), a defined category of neat utensil behavior increased. Weights of the subjects were monitored steadily throughout the study and showed essentially no change.
APPLICATION OF DELAYED REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURES TO THE BEHAVIOR OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD1
Authors: Schwarz Michael L. , Hawkins Robert P.
Published: March 2006

Delayed reinforcement techniques were applied, in a multiple baseline experimental design, to modify the behavior of a mildly maladjusted sixth‐grade child. The following behaviors were chosen for modification: face‐touching, posture, and voice‐loudness. Videotape recordings were made of the subject's behavior during mathematics and spelling periods each day. The recordings from the mathematics period was shown to her after school, and consequences for behavior exhibited during mathematics were dispensed during the after‐school viewing. This delayed reinforcement procedure produced the desired behavior changes during the mathematics period. Tapes from the spelling period, which were taken without the child's knowledge, indicated that the behavior changes generalized to portions of the day other than the mathematics period.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF GENERALIZED IMITATION WITHIN TOPOGRAPHICALLY DETERMINED BOUNDARIES1
Authors: Garcia Eugene , Baer Donald M. , Firestone Ira
Published: March 2006

A multiple baseline technique was employed to examine the experimental development of an imitative repertoire within preselected topographical boundaries. Four severely retarded children, initially nonimitative, were individually trained to imitate a number of motor and vocal responses by shaping and fading procedures. Other untrained responses (probes) were demonstrated to the subjects systematically throughout the ongoing training. Training responses were divided into three topographical types: small motor, large motor, and short vocal responses. Probe responses were divided into four topographical types: small motor, large motor, short vocal, and long vocal responses. Following a multiple baseline format, sequential training of the first three types was begun at different temporal periods of the study; unreinforced imitative generalization was continually measured by the probes. Generalized imitation was observed in each subject (untrained responses were imitated even though unreinforced); but this generalization was restricted to the topographical type of imitation currently receiving training or having previously received training.
A DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC AUDIO TAPE RECORDING1
Authors: Bernal Martha E. , Gibson Dennis M. , Williams Donald E. , Pesses Danny I.
Published: March 2006

Adaptation of a commercially available timer for use as a means of operating an audio tape recorder several times during the day is described. Data on a mother's rates of commanding her children were collected via both physically present observer and recorder methods in order to compare the usefulness of the recordings with direct observation. There was a high positive relationship between observer‐recorder command rates, with the observer rates being consistently higher, when data were collected via both methods simultaneously as well as at different points in time.
TOILET TRAINING OF NORMAL AND RETARDED CHILDREN1
Authors: Mahoney Kurt , Wagenen R. Keith Van , Meyerson Lee
Published: March 2006

Early elements in an operant chain of toilet behaviors were trained in three normal infants and five retarded children. Following that, eliminative behaviors were conditioned by operant procedures. Each child was equipped with an auditory signalling device that gave cues to the learner. Baseline behavior was recorded for a period of five days. The procedure for training consisted of two steps. First, a response was obtained through physical, verbal, and auditory prompts. Second, prompts were faded until the child responded in the presence of the auditory signal. When the device was removed the child performed without the auditory prompt. Parents were instructed in a similar procedure to enhance generalization in the home. Seven of the eight subjects reached a criterion and maintained that behavior during three criterion sessions.
MODIFICATION OF THE FREQUENCY OF DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES IN THE SPEECH OF HEAD START CHILDREN THROUGH MODELING WITHOUT REINFORCEMENT
Authors: Lahey Benjamin B.
Published: March 2006

Children enrolled in a Head Start program were instructed to describe the contents of each of four boxes of toys. After the subject's initial description (baseline), the experimenter (model) described the contents of three boxes of different toys in alternation with the subject's descriptions. For one group, the experimenter used descriptive adjectives in his descriptions. In a second group, the experimenter used no adjectives of any kind. A marked increase in the frequency of descriptive adjectives was observed during the first description after modeling in the first group. This increase was maintained in successive descriptions at approximately the frequency used by the experimenter. Frequency of descriptive adjectives remained at zero or decreased in the scond group.
THE MODIFICATION OF A CHILD'S ENURESIS: SOME RESPONSE‐RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
Authors: Nordquist Vey Michael
Published: March 2006

The present study attempted to evaluate experimentally the relationship between two response classes, enuresis and oppositional behavior. One child who had a long history of bed‐wetting was observed in his home setting. Parents' reports and initial observations confirmed that the child was oppositional much of the time. When a timeout operation and differential attention were presented, removed, and presented again, the frequency of oppositional behavior decreased, increased, and decreased accordingly. Fluctuations in enuretic activity also correlated with the presence and absence of the timeout and differential attention operations. The suppression of oppositional behavior and enuretic activity persisted over an 18‐month treatment period. It was suggested that the parental operations performed on oppositional behavior may have led to an increase in the parents' social reward value. Cessation of enuretic activity was explained in terms of a shift in parental reinforcer effectiveness.
BEHAVIORAL ENGINEERING: TWO APPARATUSES FOR TOILET TRAINING RETARDED CHILDREN1
Authors: Azrin N. H. , Bugle C. , O'Brien F.
Published: March 2006

Daytime incontinence is a major problem for retarded children. A training procedure for eliminating this problem should be facilitated by an apparatus that provided the trainer with an immediate signal when the child voided so that the trainer could react immediately. Two apparatuses were developed for this purpose: a toilet‐chair apparatus to signal proper toileting and a portable pants‐alarm apparatus to signal wetting of the pants. A reprimand was given when pants wetting occurred whereas positive reinforcement was given for proper toileting. Results with four profoundly retarded children indicated the reliability of the apparatuses in practice and the effectiveness of a toilet training program that used the two apparatuses.
A COMPARISON OF STUDENTS STUDYING‐BEHAVIOR PRODUCED BY DAILY, WEEKLY, AND THREE‐WEEK TESTING SCHEDULES1
Authors: Mawhinney V. T. , Bostow D. E. , Laws D. R. , Blumenfeld G. J. , Hopkins B. L.
Published: March 2006

Time spent in contact with academic course materials as a function of two testing schedules was measured using college undergraduates in an introductory educational psychology course. A within‐subject (ABAB) design was employed with all subjects to allow for both individual and group analyses. A study room equipped with an adjacent observation room enabled visual and auditory monitoring of student study behavior. Academic materials were exclusively available to students in the study room and records of durations and distribution of student study time were made by an observer behind a one‐way mirror. Daily testing produced consistent duration of study behavior with regular attendance at the study room; weekly and three‐week testing produced sporadic bursts of study behavior and frequent instances of non‐attendance. The amount of study behavior occurring in weekly and three‐week testing conditions increased as the test time drew near (scalloping). Results suggest that daily testing supports more consistent study patterns than do the two larger intertest intervals investigated.
ENGINEERING THE BEHAVIORAL ENGINEER1
Authors: Loeber Rolf
Published: March 2006

Twenty‐eight nursing staff members treated, by operant methods, a simulated headbanging patient. They were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions, involving improvement versus non‐improvement of the “patient” and promise of reward versus no promise of reward. The promise of reward significantly improved accuracy of treatment. Improvement of the patient, however, did not improve accuracy.
A METHOD FOR RECORDING VERBAL BEHAVIOR IN FREE‐PLAY SETTINGS
Authors: Nordquist Vey M.
Published: March 2006

The present study attempted to test the reliability of a new method of recording verbal behavior in a free‐play preschool setting. Six children, three normal and three speech impaired, served as subjects. Videotaped records of verbal behavior were scored by two experimentally naive observers. The results suggest that the system provides a means of obtaining reliable records of both normal and impaired speech, even when the subjects exhibit nonverbal behaviors (such as hyperactivity) that interfere with direct observation techniques.
VOLUNTARY CONTROL OF EROTICISM1
Authors: Henson Donald E. , Rubin H. B.
Published: March 2006

A recent study reported that motivated human male subjects were able voluntarily to inhibit penile erection in the presence of effective erotic stimulation (Laws and Rubin, 1969). However, because this study required attendance only to the display area of erotic stimuli, there was a possibility that inhibition resulted from their subjects not attending to the content of the stimuli. The present study utilized a procedure that guaranteed subjects' attendance to the content of the erotic stimulation, i.e., a description of the behavioral content of the erotic stimulus film. Nevertheless, every subject was able to inhibit penile erection almost as effectively as when no film description was required. Furthermore, the verbal description prevented the production of competing asexual stimuli; a technique that all subjects, in both the Laws and Rubin study (1969) and the present study, reported using to inhibit penile erection when no description was required. This suggests that although concentration on asexual stimuli may be the preferred method of reducing sexual arousal to erotic stimulation, penile erection can be inhibited by other methods.
AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF ANTI‐LITTER PROCEDURES1
Authors: Burgess Robert L. , Clark Roger N. , Hendee John C.
Published: March 2006

This study evaluates the differential effectiveness of six different anti‐litter procedures in two neighborhood theaters. The procedures used to encourage individuals in attendance to pick up litter and deposit it properly included: providing litterbags, providing litterbags with instructions to use them, providing extra trash cans, showing a special anti‐litter film before the feature film, and providing incentives for the appropriate deposit of litter. In both theaters, the incentive procedures resulted in the removal of over 90% of all litter by the children in attendance, a figure far above that achieved by the other procedures investigated.
A MULTIPLE CHANGE SCORE COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL COLLEGE TEACHING PROCEDURES1
Authors: Alba E. , Pennypacker H. S.
Published: March 2006

Seventy‐six students in a college‐level course in human development were divided into an experimental and a control group of approximately equal size. Both groups were given a pretest composed of fill‐in and multiple‐choice items. The control group was exposed to conventional educational practices while the experimental group was treated in a manner similar to that described by Johnston and Pennypacker (1971), performing only on fill‐in items. Post‐test results showed significantly greater changes in the experimental group, regardless of the type of test item, although the difference was greater in the case of the fill‐in items. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for both future research and tactics in the development of improved teaching technologies.
A NOTE ON SOME REINFORCING PROPERTIES OF UNIVERSITY LECTURES1
Authors: Lloyd Kenneth E. , Garlington Warren K. , Lowry Douglas , Burgess Helene , Euler Harald A. , Knowlton William R.
Published: March 2006

Contingency management systems in university courses have sometimes assigned the role of reinforcing stimulus to lectures and demonstrations. Attending a lecture was made contingent upon having previously finished certain course assignments. The present paper investigated some variables that control student attendance at lectures. Attendance remained high throughout each course at those class meetings where quizzes contributing to course grades were given or where impending quizzes were discussed. Attendance at lectures over the reading assignments or over material unrelated to course quizzes rapidly declined. When students were given course credit for attending these lectures, or when the lectures included information for future quizzes, attendance increased. When attending these lectures was made contingent upon having completed certain assignments the prior week, no increase in assignment completion was noted and the attendance at the lectures decreased even further. All lectures were given during one class meeting each week. Attendance at the other class meetings during the week remained stable.
EFFECTS OF TEACHER ATTENTION ON DIGIT‐REVERSAL BEHAVIOR IN AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD1
Authors: Hasazi Joseph E. , Hasazi Susan E.
Published: March 2006

Teacher attention was systematically manipulated to modify digit‐reversal behavior in an elementary school child. Almost invariably, the child reversed the order of digits (e.g., writing 21 as the sum of 5 + 7) when adding numbers yielding a two‐digit sum. The child, along with classmates, was given 20 addition problems a day for the duration of the study, and the number of reversals was recorded. During an initial baseline period, the teacher responded to digit reversals by marking them as incorrect and then giving the child “extra help” until all sums were correctly ordered. The child's present and previous teacher had both responded to reversals in this manner for approximately one year before the present study began. An experimental period followed during which the rate of reversals decreased sharply. During this period, all sums were marked as correct (whether reversed or not); “extra help” with reversals was discontinued; and correct, i.e., non‐reversed, response forms were responded to with a smile, a pat on the back, and a brief comment. A reversal period followed, during which the teacher responded to reversals as she had in the first baseline period. An increase in the rate of reversals to baseline level occurred within three days. A final period, replicating the first experimental period followed, and was characterized by a sharp decrease in the rate of reversals.
A PORTABLE DEVICE FOR GROUP MODIFICATION OF CLASSROOM ATTENDING BEHAVIOR
Authors: Willis Jerry , Crowder Jeane
Published: March 2006

There is a need for a portable means of signalling appropriate classroom behavior that the teacher can carry with her as she moves about the room. An inexpensive wireless switch, adapted for classroom use, was used to turn on a clock when all children were attending to their work. When a movie was made contingent on accumulating a specific number of minutes on the clock, class‐attending increased. Throughout these conditions, the records of class attending made by an independent observer with a stopwatch correlated highly with the remote controlled clock.