In an investigation of the effects of praise, negative comment and no comment on expository compositions of eleventh grade students, author hypothesized that praise might increase motivation more than criticism or no comment. He suggests an experiment to test this phypothesis. (NL)

Presents specific methods for trainers to use in conjunction with their supervisory training programs in order to increase the amount of skill transfer that supervisors bring to the job. Methods include developing skill mastery, building confidence, and applying skills immediately. Post-training reinforcement sources for the supervisors are noted.…

Students with an internal locus of control functioned well under a variety of conditions while students needing extrinsic reinforcement functioned well only when feedback was provided by the experimenter. (MM)

The effects of reinforcement choice on task performance were examined with six individuals (ages 6-39) who had been diagnosed with severe to profound mental retardation. Findings indicated that access to choice did not improve the task performance of the subjects when highly preferred items were already incorporated into instructional programs.…

Outlines a theory of human motivation that focuses on the unpredictability of life, innate and noninnate differences in individual characteristics, individual responsibility for actions, importance of a meaningful life, intrinsic physiologic rewards of behavior, gender differences in behavior, adult psychological maturation, and limitations of the…