Factors affecting conditional discrimination learning by pigeons

In Experiment 1 (within subjects) and Experiment 2 (between subjects) it was shown that the sequential training of pigeons on a color discrimination and then on its reversal, each in a different floor-tilt/texture context, failed to produce conditional control of discriminative performance by those contexts. Daily alternation between the two problems (with correlated contexts) was successful, however. In each of these experiments conditional control was better reflected in generalization test performance in extinction than during sessions of training with reinforcement.     

Developmental Group Therapy with Autistic and Other Severely Psychosocially Handicapped Adolescents

During adolescence, some of the barriers to social and emotional contact in severely handicapped autistic and other comparably developmentally disabled persons are lowered. A highly modified version of group therapy, in which multiple coleaders actively plan and direct the group process, is proposed as a method of enhancing the emotional experience of such youngsters. A case study of a developmental therapy group is presented, followed by discussion of treatment results and directions for future research.