Modification of symptomatic verbal behaviour of mental patients

The clinically significant verbal behaviour exhibited by three mental patients was systematically manipulated by controlling the reaction of ward staff to the patients' verbalizations. When social reinforcement was made dependent upon symptomatic verbal responses, these responses increased in frequency. Withholding social reinforcement (extinction) resulted in a decrease in the frequency of symptomatic verbal responses. These techniques are now being used in the modification of verbal behaviour of schizophrenic patients.