The Work Group on Behavior Modification in Education, which issued this report, was authorized by Secretary Elliot Richardson on November 21, 1970. The body of this report includes an analysis of the benefits of behavior modification techniques in education, examples of their successful application with a variety of large student populations, an…

Two new variations of overcorrection (a behavior modification technique) in the treatment of the self-injurious behaviors (cigarette-butt-eating and hair pulling) of a 57-year-old profoundly mentally handicapped woman are discussed. (BD)

This investigation indicates that birth order is significantly related to participation in dangerous sports and that first borns are less likely to engage in risk taking than are later borns. (JD)

A sample of nuclear families is drawn to test hypothesis that role-taking is a function of the interactive effects of value similarity and affect. Support is found for the position that, in certain conditions, value similarity, regardless of the level of affect, is strongly related to role-taking accuracy. (RP)

This book outlines a theory on the origin, nature, and nurture of Man that sees apparently conflicting achievements and failures as integral parts of the whole of Man and his mission. (Author)

University students worked puzzles and were given a high or low value cash award, contingent on simple task completion or on attainment of a performance level, or noncontingent and unexpected. Interest in the task after reward was analyzed. Results provided substantial support for Deci's cognitive evaluation theory. (Author/SJL)

An analysis of the film viewing habits of Belgian television viewers reveals that movies with advisories regarding sex and violence are watched more than the movies without them. However, movies with qualifications tend to be judged less interesting than movies without qualifications. (JMF)

Presents a study demonstrating that aid-giving by children is predicated by nonverbal displays of submission emitted by the child under attack, and that although the children observing the episodes respond to the displays, the aggressor ignores them. (JMF)

The escalation of commitment has been variously labeled the psychology of entrapment, the sunk cost effect, and the too-much-invested-to-quit syndrome. This article reviews the state of research and describes four major determinants: project; psychological; social; and organizational variables. A model is provided. (YP)

A close friend and colleague of Burrhus Frederic Skinner comments on obituaries of Skinner published in major newspapers and expresses his gratefulness for Skinner's contributions to the field of behavioral psychology, including his writing of "The Behavior of Organisms" and development of teaching machines and programed instruction.…