The influence of negative affect on the retrieval of information from memory during infancy was investigated in two studies through the use of an operant conditioning paradigm. The procedure used, known as "mobile conjugate reinforcement," involves a free operant task in which an infant is reinforced for footkicking by the movement of an…

Three papers discuss aspects of The Ima Hogg Therapeutic School for emotionally disturbed children. The first paper addresses the school's behavior development and management system, which rewards self management with freedom in physical activity and uses individualized target behaviors designed to increase the child's acceptable social…

The effective use of parents as behavior change agents in the modification of their children's behavior is discussed. Identified are four parent training steps: (1) parents learn to identify and record specific behaviors: (2) parents learn through consultation and reading how to effect behavior change: (3) parents count behaviors, note behavioral…

Reviewed are some of the most effective behavior modification techniques for use with learning disabled (LD) children. Compared are the medical, psychometric, and behavioral models of LD; and discussed are the criteria used for classifying LD. Principles of applying motivational techniques such as selecting an effective reinforcer are considered.…

This paper presents an integrative perspective on infant development (based on a consideration of developmental data) which focuses on the function of the smile. From the earliest spontaneous smiles of the newborn period to mature smiling and laughter, a central role was revealed for an excitation (tension)-relaxation process in producing smiles.…

Described is the parent education component of a St. Louis, Missouri, program for the severely handicapped (5-21 years old) which focused on instruction in behavior modification skills. Noted are the organization of the first program of 10 weekly sessions, a continuation program for parents who completed the first program, the "hard to reach"…

The purposes of this study are (1) to analyze learning ability in newborns using heart rate responses to auditory temporal conditioning and (2) to correlate these with measures on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale. Twenty normal neonates were tested using the Brazelton Scale on the third day of life. They were also given a…

Until recently, the use of contingency contracting has been largely an issue of theory and discussion with little experimental research evidence gathered to support efficacy. Two major reasons for this problem are suggested and discussed: (1) the concept of contingency contracting has not been adequately defined nor its minimal requirements…

This study analyzed the mental distractions of students while reading a text. Ss were asked to press a switch to record mental distractions as they occurred, and a treatment was designed to attempt to reduce the number of distractions. The hypothesis related to the treatment effect was that students given explicit training to reduce distractions…

This paper develops a stimulus selection theory, based on an extensive review of previous research, which gives weight to context change or stimulus generalization decrement. The theory assumes no special compounding or configurational process, and accounts for the learning of successive discriminations without the addition of any special process.…

To determine the influence of successful or unsuccessful competitive outcomes and small or large margins of victory/defeat on performance, pairs of female undergraduate students "competed" against each other in a dart tossing contest. False feedback about the outcomes and margin of victory/defeat led subjects to believe they were winning every…

Described are 10 stages involved in guiding teachers through the development and implementation of behavior modification projects. The first stage addresses the development of a positive attitude. Additional steps involve introduction of such specific skills as observing and recording behavior, selecting the target behavior, setting goals and…

The paper provides an overview of a prelanguage program that was developed for a low functioning, 7 1/2-year-old congenitally deaf-blind child. It is explained that the program was based on principles and procedures as they related to operant behaviors, that reinforcement techniques were continually applied, and that a great deal of successive…

In Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior, three categories of environmental control over instances of verbal behavior appear to be relevant to the study of infant vocal development: the mand, the tact, and the echoic categories. Procedures used in the remediation of language deficiencies and procedures found in work in the area of language…

Research regarding the use of aversive conditioning is reviewed, ethical questions are considered, and the proper use of the procedure with the severly handicapped is examined. Cited are studies on the use of shock therapy, mild aversive, timeout procedures, overcorrection, and restraint. The importance of pairing positive with aversive stimuli is…