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This study was designed to apply reinforcement theory to changing attitudes as measured by the MTAI of teacher education students. Subjects consisted of 93 educational psychology students who were randomly assigned to one of the three groups (Treatment, Hawthorne, and Control), The experimental treatment consisted of inviting students in for five brief “get‐acquainted” interviews in which any statement expressing positive attitudes toward teacher‐pupil relationships was reinforced. Two control groups were used; one received no special treatment, while the other was invited in for five “get‐acquainted” interviews, but was not reinforced for expressing favorable attitudes toward pupil‐teacher relationships. Results indicated no significant differences among the three groups. This study indicates that for students enrolled in an educational psychology course those who receive reinforcement outside of class for verbalizing appropriate attitudes of teacher‐pupil relationships do not show significant gain in MTAI scores over those students in the course who do not receive such reinforcement outside of class.

A number of i n v e s t i g a t o r s ( C a l l i s , 1950; Day, 1959) have reported s i g n i f i c a n t changes i n Minnesota Teacher A t t i t u d e Inventory (MTAI) s c o r e s over t i m e f o r b o t h c o n t r o l and experimental s u b j e c t s . I n g e n e r a l , s c o r e s tend t o i n c r e a s e during t e a c h e r p r e p a r a t i o n and t o decrease during t h e e a r l y t e a c h i n g experience. This a r t i c l e