Two experiments with pigeons examined the effects of unsignaled, nonresetting delays of reinforcement on responding maintained by different reinforcement rates. In Experiment 1, 3-s unsignaled delays were introduced into each component of a multiple variable-interval (VI) 15-s VI 90-s VI 540-s schedule. When considered as a proportion of the…

Underweight subjects were assigned to either a self-reinforcement condition, a self-punishment condition, or to a discussion/reflection control condition. The subjects received one treatment session per week over a five-week period. After treatment, the self-reinforcement groups gained significantly more pounds (kilograms) than either of the other…

Eight disruptive children attended an after school reading tutorial program one hour a day for 72 days. After baseline, the children evaluated their academic and social behavior. A token program was instituted in which points and backup reinforcers were made contingent upon accurate self-ratings. This program was then gradually modified. (Author)

TWO SERIES OF STUDIES WHOSE SUBJECTS WERE EITHER HOODED AND ALBINO RATS OR YOUNG CHILDREN INVESTIGATED THE INFLUENCE OF EARLY EXPERIENCES ON LATER BEHAVIOR. IN THE FIRST, BOTH SUBSPECIES OF RATS WERE EXPOSED TO EITHER ENRICHED OR RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTS TO ASSESS THEIR PROBLEM-SOLVING ABILITIES UNDER VARIOUS LEARNING CONDITIONS. THE RESULTS…

The methodological aspects of the behavior analysis movement are often overlooked in favor of focusing on the powerful effects of rewards and punsihments used systematically in a behavior-modification paradigm. The methodological aspects are important for the topic of research on teaching because they create a situation where the teacher acts both…

Control of environments in which problem behaviors in mother-child interactions take place appears necessary if reliable measurement of those behaviors is to result. Investigation of situational variables should advance the behavior modification technology in general. One methodological approach towards such control is presented. It focuses on…

The study compared the efficacy of proclamation, contracting, and contingent teacher approval in modifying the classroom behavior of 5 Negro adolescents. Proclamation consisted of a written statement of reward and punishment contingencies (points gained or lost) under which the class was operating, whereas the contracting phase permitted students…

This article describes some of the progress of a research program stressing the need for the development of reinforcement principles in education, the need for behavior analysis, and the need for wider utilization of learning principles. (Author/RK)

Significantly greater imitation of the teacher model's incidental behaviors was observed among advantaged children, among girls, and in response to the positive reinforcing teacher. (Authors)

The omission of the learning concept has resulted from a methodological approach which emphasizes what people have learned and not how they learned. A specific research strategy based upon operant learning theory principles as applied to the acquisition of verbal behavior is suggested. (Author)

The present study was concerned with demonstrating that schedule of knowledge of results may enhance resistance to extinction" on the pursuit rotor in a manner analogous to the partial reinforcement effect in conditioning. (Author)