The present study consists of two experiments that analyze the effects of high and low densities of reinforcemnt on the maladaptive behaviors of a 9 year old girl with autism. The first experiment investigates the isolated effects of density of reinforcement on the frequency of maladaptive behaviors during a motor imitation teaching task. High densities of reinforcement produced fewer occurrences of maladaptive behavior than low densities of reinforcement. Experiment 2 analyzes the effects of density of reinforcement during the same teaching tasks as in experiment 1 on maladaptive behavior, task accuracy, prompt resistance, and language. Maladaptive behavior did not recur during experiment 2. High density of reinforcement conditions during the second experiment showed a positive effect on the accuracy of responding and compliance with prompts.

Methods for the determining the functional properties of problem behaviors are necessary for the design of successful treatments. Many of the currently utilized methodologies are chosen based on their speed, ease of application or for the perceived risk-reduction they afford. However, when thoroughly analyzed many of these methods fall short of their intended purpose. The current study attempted to assess dangerous problem behavior through a functional assessment of functionally related precursor behaviors during analog sessions. Results indicate that for three participants, placing the reinforcing contingencies on these related precursor behaviors produced differentiated outcomes during the assessment. These outcomes matched the outcomes of assessments of the more dangerous problem behaviors.

The purpose of this experiment was to compare the effects of combining negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement during teaching with the effects of using positive reinforcement alone. A behavior was trained under two stimulus conditions and procedures. One method involved presenting the cue ven and reinforcing successive approximations to the target behavior. The other method involved presenting the cue punir, physically prompting the target behavior by pulling the leash, and delivering a reinforcer. Three other behaviors were trained using the two cues contingent on their occurrence. The results suggest that stimuli associated with both a positive reinforcer and an aversive stimulus produce a different dynamic than a situation that uses positive reinforcement or punishment alone.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of supplemental on-task and performance contingencies on the acquisition of math skills for elementary school children identified as seriously emotionally disturbed/behaviorally disordered, attention deficit disordered, and students without disabilities. Three experimental conditions were utilized, involving teacher-directed instruction with (a) no contingencies, (b) contingencies for academic performance, and (c) contingencies for academic performance and on-task behavior. The study was designed to measure the effects of these contingency conditions on the number of math problems solved accurately by the study's participants.

There are two principal definitions of response-reinforcer contingency in the current literature which Scott and Piatt (1985) have labeled the phi coefficient and Rescorla index. For both definitions, contingencies are sensitive to two conditional probabilities of reinforcement, that given the occurrence and that given the non-occurrence of the criterion response. However, phi coefficient is sensitive also to the probability of the criterion response. In order to examine the relationship between children's perceived contingencies of teacher reinforcements, as defined by the phi coefficient and Rescorla index, and the children's perceptions of competence and measures of their academic performances, 119 5th grade children (54 boys and 65 girls) were studied. Two variables derived specifically from the phi coefficient, the probability of children's responses and the probability of teacher reinforcements, were also examined in their relationship to perceived contingencies and academic performance. In general, children's perceptions of teachers as both contingently rewarding and punishing, as defined by the phi coefficient and Rescorla index, were predictive of good academic performance by the children and teachers rating them as academically competent. Childrens' perceptions of their academic competence were also predictive of their academic performances and teacher ratings. The children's perceptions of academic competence were related to their reporting themselves as likely to produce positive achievement behavior but unlikely to produce negative achievement behavior. No significant relationship was found between the children's perceived contingencies of teacher reinforcements and their perceptions of their own academic competence. These results were discussed as supporting Bandura's self-efficacy theory. Thus, expectations of reinforcement contingency and expectations of personal competence jointly determine actual competence. The contingency findings support the utility of the Children's Perceived Contingencies of Reinforcements Questionnaire as a measure of contingency in the applied setting.

Twenty-one special education children failing to persist after failure on arithmetic problems were given 15 days of treatment in three arithmetic training programs, equivalent in all respects except that success experiences occurred either 46.2%, 76.9%, or 100% of the time. Following training, children in both the 46.2% and 100% reinforcement, groups continued to show serious performance deterioration following failure, while children in the 76.9% group showed marked improvement. An inventory measuring attributions to failure before and after training indicated that the 76.9% reinforcement group showed significantly greater tendency to attribute failure to lack of effort than did either of the other two groups.

The study investigated the relationships between perceived contingency of parental rewarding and punishing behaviors and locus. of control. Scores on Levenson's Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance locus of control scales were correlated with scores on Yates, Kennelly, and Cox's (1975) Perceived Contingency of Rewards and Punishments Questionnaire. Few significant correlations were obtained. Maternal non-contingent reward related negatively and significantly to internality for males. Paternal non-contingent reward related positively and significantly to males' perception of control by powerful others. And paternal contingent reward related negatively and significantly to females' perceptions of control by chance. Results are discussed relative to learned helplessness research interpretations.

Fifteen hospitalized adolescents were used as subjects. An individually consequated token economy was in effect during baseline. Measures were taken of work output, attending behavior, and disruptive behavior. During the treatment phase, reinforcement was contingent upon the performance of a randomly selected subgroup. Following the treatment phase, the individual token system was reinstated for baseline-2 measures. The mean performance of the group during baseline was compared to performance under treatment conditions for work output and attending behaviors. In addition, performance of the contingent subgroup was compared to performance of the non-contingent group. No significant t values were obtained. With failure to obtain significant t values, the null hypothesis was not rejected, i.e., the two conditions were not proven significantly different.

This study investigated the relationships between locus of control and perceived contingency of parental rewards and punishments. Questionnaires measuring subjects' locus of control and their perception of parental contingency behavior were administered to undergraduate college students. The obtained measures of contingency of parental rewards and punishments were correlated with scores on Rotter's I-E Scale. Of the maternal contingency factors, only noncontingent punishment related significantly and negatively to internality (males only). Paternal contingent punishment related positively and significantly to internality for both males and females. There was a significant negative relationship between paternal noncontingent punishment and internality (males only). None of the parental reward factors related significantly to locus of control.

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