The role of social and material reinforcers in increasing talking of a disadvantaged preschool child

Adult social reinforcement and access to materials in the preschool were made contingent on the verbalizations of a 4-yr-old Negro girl with an extremely low frequency of talking. Though the teachers' social attention was always given immediately for all spontaneous speech, if the child's spontaneous verbalizations were requests for materials, those materials were withheld until she had responded to the teachers' questions about those materials. When she was silent, the teachers withheld their attention and the materials. A high frequency of verbal behavior was quickly established. When both teacher attention and materials were provided only when the child was not verbalizing, the child's frequency of talking immediately decreased. When social attention and materials were again made contingent upon spontaneous speech and answering questions, the child's frequency of talking quickly increased to its previous high level. The content of the child's verbal behavior which increased was primarily a repetition of requests to the teachers with little change noted in the non-request verbalizations, or verbalizations to other children. A further experimental analysis demonstrated that social interaction per se was not the reinforcer which maintained the increased verbalization; rather, for this child, the material reinforcers which accompanied the social interaction appeared to be the effective components of teacher attention.     

On some causes of behavioral contrast

Responding at low rates was differentially reinforced in each of two components of a multiple schedule. In order to study the relative contributions to behavioral contrast in one component of the rates of responding, and of reinforcement in a second component, a series of visual stimuli correlated with the duration of each interresponse time was added to one component. The added stimuli resulted in a decreased rate of responding and hence an increased rate of reinforcement in that component. Despite the increase in the rate of reinforcement, the rate of responding without added stimuli in the other component increased (contrast), even though the increase resulted in less frequent reinforcement.     

Factor structure of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test at five grade levels between grades one and 12

The Peabody Individual Achievement Test was factor analyzed at five grade levels. The two-factor solution was retained at each grade. Subtests composing each factor changed from the lower to upper grade levels, but the abilities measured by each factor appear constant. A close similarity between the two factors and Cattell's concept of fluid and crystallized intelligence was noted. Subtests' specificities were computed at each grade level investigated and implications for use and interpretation of the PIAT discussed.     

Work roles in death-releated occupations

More occupations than generally realized require the worker to have contact with the dying, the dead, and the bereaved. The opportunity for “leeway” and the desire to provide service are major motivating factors for persons in these positions. The death-related professional, often fatalistic in his own views of his own death, must live up to the social expectations for his role performance while simultaneously being a functioning human being who must encounter death at a personal level and a businessman who must earn his living from working with death-related concerns.