Social punishment in the modification of a pre-school child's "autistic-like" behavior with a mother as therapist

The mother of a 3-yr-old girl who showed "autistic-like" behavior was cued via an FM wireless microphone systematically to approve and disapprove of her child's behavior. After baselines were taken on two categories of problem behavior (Pre-Academic and Social Behavior), the social contingencies were applied successively to each category. The Pre-Academic task was quickly established in the child when the mother applied these social contingencies. This result was replicated with requests for social interaction. In the final phase, cueing was withdrawn from both situations and the mother was able to maintain the child's improved behavior. An analysis of the mother's behavior suggested that her increased use of social punishment for inappropriate behavior was the key factor in the child's increasing responsiveness. Follow-up seven months later indicated that the improvements maintained.     

Modification of articulation errors of pre-delinquents by their peers

Pre-delinquent peers in Achievement Place (a community based family style rehabilitation program based on a token economy) were given points (token reinforcement) to modify the articulation errors of two boys. In Experiment I, using a multiple baseline experimental design, error words involving the /l/, /r/, /th/, and /ting/ sounds were successfully treated by both a group of peers and by individual peers. Also, generalization occurred to words that were not trained. The speech correction procedure used by the peers involved a number of variables including modelling, peer approval, contingent points, and feedback. The individual role of each of these variables was not experimentally analyzed, but it was demonstrated that peers could function as speech therapists without instructions, feedback, or the presence of an adult. It was also found that payment of points to peers for detecting correct articulations produced closer agreement with the experimenter than when they were paid points for finding incorrect articulations. The results were replicated in a second experiment with another subject who had similar articulation errors. In addition, the second experiment showed that peer speech correction procedures resulted in some generalization to the correct use of target words in sentences and significant improvements on standard tests of articulation.     

FIELD REPLICATION OF CLASSWIDE PEER TUTORING

We conducted a large-scale field replication study of classwide peer tutoring applied to spelling instruction (Greenwood, Delquadri, & Hall, 1984). Two hundred and eleven inner-city students in four schools participated during their first- and second-grade school years. The effects of classwide peer tutoring were compared to teacher instructional procedures and pretest probes using a group replication design (Barlow, Hayes, & Nelson, 1984). Analysis of group and individual results indicated that (a) both teacher instructional procedures and classwide peer tutoring were effective in increasing spelling performance above pretest levels, (b) peer tutoring produced statistically greater gains relative to the teachers' procedures for both low and high student groups formed on pretest levels, (c) these outcomes were representative of groups, classes, individuals, and years during the project, and (d) participant satisfaction with the program was generally high. A separate analysis of the social importance of treatment outcome revealed differential findings for low and high groups related to pretest levels. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The CLIPR remote laboratory microprocessor system: Development and applications

The introduction of microprocessor technology into the centralized experiment automation facilities of CLIPR separates data processing functions and real-time functions. Three examples of real-time intelligent terminals are described. The implementation process, principles, and examples for using microprocessor technology in this way is described in some detail.     

REWARD VERSUS COST TOKEN SYSTEMS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS ON STUDENTS AND TEACHER

The effects of reward and cost token procedures on the social and academic behavior of two groups of elementary special-education students were assessed using a reversal design. Behavioral observations of three target subjects in each group revealed that both procedures were about equally effective in reducing rule violations and off-task behavior. Records kept on the daily arithmetic performance of all subjects showed that output doubled in both groups during the token phases, although accuracy remained unchanged. When students were allowed to choose either contingency, no pattern of preference was established. Small differences were found in teacher behavior: the reward procedure led to an increase in approval comments but cost procedures produced no changes in teacher behavior.     

Home-based reinforcement and the modification of pre-delinquents' classroom behavior

In Exp. I, five pre-delinquents from Achievement Place attended a special summer school math class where study behavior and rule violations were measured daily for each boy. The boys were required to take a "report card" for the teacher to mark. The teacher simply marked yes or no whether a boy had "studied the whole period" and "obeyed the class rules." All yeses earned privileges in the home that day but a no lost all the privileges. Using a reversal design, it was shown that privileges dispensed remotely could significantly improve classroom performance. In Exp. II and III, home-based reinforcement was also shown to be effective in improving the study behavior of two youths in public school classrooms. In addition, data from Exp. III suggest that the daily feedback and reinforcement may be faded without much loss in study behavior. Home-based reinforcement was demonstrated to be a very effective and practical classroom behavior modification technique.