Disputing and talking-out behaviors of individual pupils and entire classroom groups in special education classes and regular classes from white middle-class areas and from all black poverty areas ranging from the first grade to junior high school were studied. The classroom teacher in each case acted as the experimenter and as an observer. Various means of recording behaviors were used and reliability of observation was checked by an outside observer, another teacher, a teacher-aide, a student, or by using a tape recorder. Observation sessions varied from 15 min to an entire school day. After baseline rates were obtained, extinction of inappropriate disputing or talking-out behaviors and reinforcement of appropriate behavior with teacher attention, praise and in some cases a desired classroom activity or a surprise at the end of the week brought a decrease in undesired verbalizations. A reversal of contingencies brought a return to high levels of inappropriate talking with a return to low levels when reinforcement for appropriate talking was reinstated. The experiments demonstrated that teachers in a variety of classroom settings could obtain reliable observational records and carry out experimental manipulations successfully using resources available in most schools.A number of studies have been reported in which the systematic application of contingent teacher attention has been shown to be an effective means of modifying inappropriate school behavior. Hall, Lund, and Jackson (1968) and Broden, Bruce, Mitchell, Carter, and Hall (1970) demonstrated that teacher attention could be used effectively to modify disruptive and dawdling behaviors of individual elementary school pupils. Hall, Panyan, Rabon, and Broden (1968) showed that increasing teacher attention contingent on appropriate behavior was effective in helping beginning teachers to gain classroom control. Thomas, Becker, and Armstrong (1968) and Madsen, Becker, and Thomas (1968) showed 'This research was partially supported by the Na- The behaviors selected for modification were primarily "talking-out" behaviors which disrupted the class and were disturbing to the teachers. The fact that this class of behaviors is of concern to teachers is born out by the fact that 14 teachers of a total of 60 selected talking out, arguing, or other verbal outbursts as a behavior to modify when given the op-141 1971, 4, 141-149 NUMBER 2 (SUMMER 1971)

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Overall, these results support the view that dental-facial esthetics and self-perceptions of occlusal appearance, as well as attitudes toward malocclusion and orthodontic treatment, are important factors in the individual's decision to obtain orthodontic treatment. The data indicate that psychosocial variables not directly related to occlusal problems and treatment, do not add significantly to the description of differences between those who seek treatment and those who do not. While these analyses did not include a number of variables--such as socioeconomic factors or attitudes of significant others--which may also be important in predicting individual response to malocclusion, they do suggest strongly that psychosocial factors directly related to need for treatment are probably most productively assessed in terms of self-perceptions of occlusal appearance and attitudes regarding dental malrelations and their treatment.

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