Abstract. Initial reading acquisition was taught to 64 kindergarten children for 11 weeks utilizing a two x two x four factorial design. The two antecedent conditions were the Lippincott (phonics -Ph) and Scott-Foresman (sight recognition -SR) Series. The two consequent conditions were positive verbal feedback following correct reading responses (R-N) and negative verbal feedback following incorrect reading responses (N-W). Four experimenter-teachers (ET) were used. Utilizing standardized tests of reading achievement, it was found that Ph produced a reading response of letter-sound combinations, whereas SR produced recognition of a limited number of words. There were no consistent differences for the variables of teacher, IQ, or sex.The initial focus of behavior modification as applied to school settings was to manipulate the type of consequences (e.g., teacher and/or peer attention, high-probability responses a la the Premack principle, tokens) contingent upon social behaviors that were judged as appropriate or inappropriate to classrooms (see O'Leary & O'Leary, 1972, for an overview of this area). This focus is currently widening along two dimensions: to include academic as well as social behaviors, and to modify both of these types of behavior by manipulating antecedent as well as consequent conditions (Nelson, 1973).The present study, including reading within the framework of operant psychology (Bloom, 1973;Goldiamond & Dyrud, 1966), simultaneously investi-*This article is a summary of the author's doctoral dissertation at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The author is indebted: to her committee chairman, Alan O. Ross, for his assistance; to Sachem School District, for cooperation and subjects; to the Stony Brook students who participated in this investigation (Emily Davidson, Nancy Fenrick, Julie Heiman, Jerry Jed, Lynn Mofenson, Linda Nash, Linda Rudin Hay, Roger Shadlowsky, David Sheslow, May Tung, and Denise Whikehart); to the J. B. Lippincott Company for a discount; and to the Graduate School at Stony Brook for a grant-in-aid. Portions of this paper were presented at the Southeastern Psychological Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, April, 1973. †Request reprints from the author, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina 27412.
306Journal of Reading Behavior 1974 VI, 3 gated the effects of manipulations of both antecedent and consequent conditions on the reading behavior of beginning readers. The antecedent conditions selected were two published series which utilized different methods of teaching reading; the consequent conditions were two types of verbal feedback from the reading instructors.Although the current study did compare two reading series, the Lippincott Basic Reading Program (1969) and the Scott-Foresman Basic Reading Program (1965) which respectively are examples of the phonics and sight recognition methods of teaching reading, this comparison was not made to add fuel to the "which is the best method" argument (Aukerman, 1971)...