EFFECTS OF TEACHER ATTENTION ON STUDY BEHAVIOR¹

Abstract

The effects of contingent teacher attention on study behavior were investigated. Individual rates of study were recorded for one first-grade and five third-grade pupils who had high rates of disruptive or dawdling behavior. A reinforcement period (in which teacher attention followed study behavior and non-study behaviors were ignored) resulted in sharply increased study rates. A brief reversal of the contingency (attention occurred only after periods of non-study behavior) again produced low rates of study. Reinstatement of teacher attention as reinforcement for study once again markedly increased study behavior. Follow-up observations indicated that the higher study rates were maintained after the formal program terminated.

THE EFFECTS OF EXPERIMENTER'S INSTRUCTIONS, FEEDBACK, AND PRAISE ON TEACHER PRAISE AND STUDENT ATTENDING BEHAVIOR1

“…A number of recent studies have investigated the effects of contingent teacher attention on various student behaviors, i.e., attending, instruction following, verbal, and disruptive behavior in the public school classroom (Hall, Lund, Jackson, 1968;Hall, Panyan, Rabon, and Broden, 1968;Shutte and Hopkins, 1970;Thomas, Becker, and Armstrong, 1968 Baer (1970), used a consistent training procedure to modify teacher attending in preschool settings.…”

THE NONEFFECTS OF CONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT FOR ATTENDING BEHAVIOR ON WORK ACCOMPLISHED1

“…The findings emphasized the importance of designing specific contingencies for specific target behaviors. Behavioral contingencies did not have the positive effect on performance often implied, nor were performance contingencies alone able to maintain acceptable classroom behavior.A number of recent studies (Hall, Lund, and Jackson, 1968;Thomas, Becker, and Armstrong, 1968;Hamblin, Buckholdt, Ferritor, Kozloff, and Blackwell, 1971) have shown that teachers could be trained to increase appropriate behavior and decrease disruptive behavior through modifying contingencies of reinforcement in the classroom. These techniques have been used with…”

“…A number of recent studies (Hall, Lund, and Jackson, 1968;Thomas, Becker, and Armstrong, 1968;Hamblin, Buckholdt, Ferritor, Kozloff, and Blackwell, 1971) have shown that teachers could be trained to increase appropriate behavior and decrease disruptive behavior through modifying contingencies of reinforcement in the classroom. These techniques have been used with 'An earlier version of this paper was presented to the American Educational Research Association, March, 1970, Minneapolis, Minnesota. …”

Task as Reinforcer: a Reactive Alternative to Traditional Forms of Escape Extinction

“…Though proactive measures, such as positive reinforcement (Hall, Lund, & Jackson 1968), demand fading, and behavioral momentum, are critical components of many programs, analyses of compliance contingencies are incomplete without consideration of reactive measures. Students in the process of developing compliance will at least occasionally engage in noncompliance and related behaviors, and whether specifically programmed or not, something happens after those problematic behaviors.…”