Research In Behavior Modification New Developments And Implications

Originally published in 1977, these examples of research and scholarly argument were collected in honor of Professor Sidney W. Bijou. In the language of academics, they constitute a Festschrift: a festival of scholarly writing, performed to celebrate the career of a person who produced, and stimulated others to produce, exactly such contributions throughout a long, valuable, and productive professional history. Since 1955, Dr Bijou had worked almost exclusively within the approach variously labelled as the functional analysis of behavior, the experimental analysis of behavior, operant conditioning, or Skinnerian psychology. From his point of view, it seems clear, the first of these labels was the correct one. It was the principle of objective, direct, observable analysis that attracted him.

In this important book, one of the most exciting and promising developments in clinical psychology-behavior modification is applied to the treatment of the mentally retarded, particularly those whose behavior poses difficult problems for institutions. Professor Gardner presents an easily intelligible yet detailed account of the concepts and practices of behavior modification and the underlying learning systems, with numerous clinical illustrations of applying specific techniques to various educational and rehabilitation problems. A thorough discussion of the inadequacies of the psychological evaluation systems normally used in education and rehabilitation is offered, along with an alternative behavior analysis approach that provides a method of translating evaluation data into treatment practices. In explaining behavior analysis, the author takes into account the limited behavioral repertoire of the retarded and environmental deficits. Individual chapters on respondent, operant, and observational learning, and a detailed discussion of a functional analysis approach to evaluation, are included. Proven behavior modification strategies are presented along with a review of related research and clinical studies. The book closes with a detailed description of a research program for the design and testing of sheltered workshop systems for the retarded and emotionally disturbed. The positive approach inherent in the belief that behavior is modifiable-even in the severely limited retarded-is in marked contrast to the pessimism of other systems of therapy, education, and training. Also, the author has concentrated throughout on making the book understandable to clinicians and students with no previous knowledge of behavior modification. Besides serving as a valuable handbook for all treatment personnel, the book can also be used as a basic text for various courses dealing with mental retardation.

Continuing the tradition of excellence established in previous editions, distinguished researcher, practitioner, and educator Alan Kazdin integrates pioneering and recent research with discussions and examples for altering behavior and the conditions that influence their effectiveness. The Seventh Edition reflects several developments within the field of behavior modification, without diminishing an essential emphasis on applied research and intervention techniques. Kazdin has expanded and refined discussions of functional behavioral assessment, antecedent events and their influence on behavior, assessment options, ensuring the quality of assessment, data evaluation, and ethical and legal issues. New to this edition is an Appendix to guide a behavior-change project that focuses on applying the content of the book in everyday life. In addition to comprehensive coverage and lucid explanations of how assessment, evaluation, and intervention work together to improve the care of individuals, the text contains many learning-oriented features, such as chapter outlines that convey content, direction, and key points; practical examples of principles and techniques; an abundant number of tables that summarize important concepts; exercises for designing or evaluating a specific intervention or for changing a program that is not working; and a list of key terms at the end of the chapters. By completing the exercises and understanding the terms, students can master the core content of the chapters. This outstanding text enables students and professionals with varied interests to implement effective techniques with individuals and in contexts where behavior change is desperately neededin a world challenged by a wide range of social problems.

This volume was designed as both introduction and reminder - an introduction to the topic for graduate students, advanced undergraduates and younger researchers, and a reminder to more experienced researchers, in and out of academia, that the problems of artifacts in behavioural research have not gone away.

Despite the occasional outcries to the contrary, the field of behavior therapy is still growing, and the asymptote has not been reached yet. The umbrella of behavior therapy continues to enlarge and still is able to encompass new theories, new con cepts, new research, new data, and new clinical techniques. Although the number of new behavioral journals now has stabilized, we still see a proliferation of books on the subject. In the past few years, however, we have seen considerable specialization within behavior therapy. No longer is it possible to be a generalist and remain fully abreast of all the relevant developments. Thus, we see behavior therapists who deal with adults, those who deal with children, those whose specialty is hospital psychiatry, and those who see themselves as practitioners of behavioral medicine. Even within a subarea such as behavioral medicine, specialization runs supreme to the extent that there are experts in the specific addictions, adult medical problems, and child medical problems. Given the extent of specialization, there are numerous ways "to skin" the pro verbial "cat." We therefore have chosen to look at the contemporary work in behavior therapy that is being carried out with adults, in part, of course, because of our long-standing interest in this area as teachers, researchers, and clinicians. In so doing, we have chosen to highlight the clinical aspects of the endeavor but not at the expense of the rich research heritage for each of the specific adult disorders.