Secondary students (n=110) with disabilities rated 90 potential reinforcers. Results indicated that, although student preferences represent a range of reinforcers within existing reinforcement hierarchies, the sample group tended to prefer less intrusive higher level reinforcers, with the overwhelming majority preferring academic or activity…

An annotated bibliography of studies dealing with social reinforcement in diverse psychological and educational contexts is given. The research reviewed covers the period from 1964 to 1972, and individual studies are classified according to classes of variables which have been found to moderate the effectiveness of social reinforcement. All told,…

Major studies and theoretical positions within the incentive motivation field are reviewed in order to present an integrated picture of past and present research. Special emphasis is placed on delineating social reinforcement variables in an attempt to explicate their relative importance within the context of social reinforcement theory; however,…

Study evaluated a program to modify school attendance for 20 special education high school students. A treatment group received social and tangible rewards for good attendance, and their parents received notices about absences. They showed no decline in attendance over a semester, whereas control group students showed significant declines. (SM)

The Experimental Manpower Laboratory for Corrections has conducted continuous experimental studies in offender rehabilitation since the lab was created in 1968. The opportunity to incorporate the findings and products from previous studies by developing a behavioral management model was provided in March 1973, when the lab began its Mount Meigs…

This document reports the results of a 6-month investigation into the possibility of instituting operational incentive systems in schools. An experiment is suggested that would examine the effects of a wide range of monetary and nonmonetary rewards on students, teachers, administrators, and parents based on demonstrated gains in student…

The point system used at Boys Town is often misunderstood, but the approach is a middle ground between two extremes: one relying on classical behavior modification, the other, rejecting behavior as a starting place for helping children get better. There are two major characteristics of the Boys Town approach: (1) teaching skills, such as…