Behavior change strategies for reducing disruptive classroom behavior

The effects of independent and interdependent group contingencies for academic work on the disruptive classroom behavior of junior high school students were examined. Using a multiple baseline design, the disruptive classroom behavior in five mathematics classes was measured under baseline, independent group, and interdependent group contingencies. Group contingencies consisted of free-time contingent on completion and accuracy of daily mathematics assignments. Free-time was delivered either individually, contingent on individual performance (independent group contingency), or to the class as a whole, contingent on group performance (interdependent group contingency). In all classes, the level of disruptive behavior was reduced when treatment was initiated. Both independent and interdependent group contingencies resulted in lowered rates of disruptive behavior, with the interdependent contingency being slightly more effective. It was concluded that for junior high students: (a) Free-time is an effective reinforcer. (b) Reinforcing academic behavior is an effective method of reducing disruptive classroom behavior. (c) Both independent and interdependent group contingencies are effective techniques for changing classroom behavior. (d) The teacher can effectively implement a behavior change program with little or no training in behavior analysis.     

A practical reinforcement hierarchy for classroom behavior modification

A practical reinforcement hierarchy was proposed for classroom-based behavior modification programs. The seven-level hierarchy ranged from primitive consequences (Le., Infantile Physical Contact and Food) through the more abstract consequences (i.e., Praise and Internal Self-Reinforcement). Suggestions were made for using the hierarchy in teacher consultation and behavior modification planning.     

The effect of a story-based cognitive behavior modification procedure on reducing children's test anxiety before and after cancellation of an important examination

This study was originally planned to examine the effects of a story-based cognitive behavior modification procedure specifically designed to help the fifth grade elementary school students to manage their anxiety before they attend a nation-wide secondary school entrance examination. The examination was cancelled after the children attended. This naturally occurred treatment was included in the study and the effect of the cancellation on the maintenance of the treatment outcome was also investigated. Twenty subjects (10 girls, 10 boys) were selected out of a total of 144 fifth grade children who would attend the exam, on the basis of the Turkish version of Test Anxiety Inventory and, assigned to treatment and control groups. The results showed that the story based cognitive behavior modification procedure was more effective than no treatment in reducing the subjects' test anxiety and the effect was maintained after cancellation of the first and three days prior to the second examination. The results also demonstrated that the effectiveness of the procedure was superior in modifying the emotionality component of test anxiety and this effectiveness continued after the cancellation of the examination.     

Serial properties of behavior and their chemical modification

Certain features of operant behavior that are sensitive to the adverse effects of chemical exposure can be obscured by exclusive experimental reliance on global measures such as response rate. Temporal patterning of behavior is the clearest example. Reinforcement schedules studied in behavioral pharmacology and toxicology reveal novel consequences of chemical treatment when subjected to analyses of their temporal and serial properties. Fixed-ratio performance, for example, undergoes not only changes in response rate, but also displays distinctive shifts in inter-response time patterning, changes in the interresponse time distribution, and deterioration in what might be termed the cohesiveness of the ratio. Variable-interval performance also may change in distinctive ways that produce altered response patterning without marked changes in rate. Sequential dependencies, as measured by techniques of time series analysis, may also reveal effects not reflected by response rates. Spaced responding and autoregressive schedules provide examples. The serial and temporal properties alluded to above can be described and analyzed by a variety of quantitative techniques that also yield information of theoretical interest.     

Ethical issues of behavior modification research in schools

Behavior modification research in the classroom was examined by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects because of the increasingly widespread use of behavioral procedures in the schools, the effectiveness of these procedures in changing academic and social behavior, and the consequent concern about potential misuse. In order to foster the responsible use of behavior modification procedures in the schools on a practical as well as a research basis, the following ethical issues being considered by researchers and the involved public are discussed: informed consent, determination of classroom goals, legitimacy of rewards and aversive controls in the classroom, conceptions of behavior modification as manipulative and mechanistic, who can implement the procedures, research design, and accountability. The authors conclude that the issues regarding protection of human subjects in behavior modification research are no different from other treatment-oriented research with children. However, the high degree of parental and teacher involvement in both research and practice requires shared responsibility for the prevention of misuse of behavior modification procedures.     

Some legal considerations and implications for the use of behavior modification in the schools

Legal considerations and implications for the utilization of behavior modification in the schools are presented. A limited number of applicable judicial proceedings and accompanying legal principles are explored. Special attention is focused on the derivation of disciplinary authority, the procedural and substantive rights of students, and the possible implications for several specific behavioral interventions within the classroom setting.     

降低知识转移成本的实验教学行为研究

我国高校的实验教学普遍存在着重结果轻过程、重产出轻成本的现象。为探讨解决之策,以植物学实验为例,从成本、收益的视角对知识转移的要素——知识的供给者、知识的接受者和知识内容进行分析,从中找出降低知识转移成本的有效实验教学行为。