Biomedical subjects

B W Gladstone

Publications and source records attributed to B W Gladstone.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1977

The effects of modelling on the contingent praise of mental retardation counsellors.

A multiple-baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of a simple modelling procedure on the contingent praise of five counsellors while they conducted hygiene-training sessions in toothbrushing and hand-and-face washing with severely retarded children. After varying numbers of baseline sessions, each counsellor watched a model who conducted a series of toothbrushing sessions, in which he conspicuously praised correct toothbrushing responses and approximations to correct responses. No modelling occurred during hand-and-face washing sessions. As a result of several exposures to the model's performance, levels of response-contingent praise provided by four of the five counsellors during toothbrushing sessions increased sharply over baseline. The levels of counsellor praise showed parallel increases during hand-and-face washing sessions. A two-week followup showed that the levels of praise obtained through modelling were maintained in the model's absence.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1975

Developing generalized behavior-modification skills in high-school students working with retarded children.

Seven high-school trainees each conducted training sessions with two profoundly retarded children. Each trainee was asked to teach one child to follow the instruction "Bring ball" and the other child to follow the instructions "Sit down" and "Come here". During baseline sessions, before the trainees had been instructed in behavior-modification techniques, no trainee successfully taught either child to follow the instructions. After differing numbers of baseline sessions, trainees were exposed to training procedures designed to teach them to teach one child to follow the instruction "Bring ball". The training procedures consisted of videotaped modelling, rehearsal, and corrective feedback and praise. Following the training procedures, four of the seven trainees successfully taught their child the instruction "Bring ball". Further, all trainees were able to teach their other children to follow the instructions "Sit down" and "Come here", even though they had received no modelling, rehearsal, or feedback on how to teach the children to follow these instructions. The ability of the trainees to teach new behaviors to different children indicates the development of generalized skills in behavior modification.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1975

Behavioral similarity as a reinforcer for preschool children.

Three experiments evaluated whether behavioral similarity provided by an adult could serve as a reinforcer for the modelling behavior of four preschoolers. In each experiment, sessions consisted of two kinds of trials: (1) experimenter-modelled trials, when the child's imitation of modelled motor responses was reinforced with praise and tokens, and (2) child-modelled trials when experimenter imitation of child-modelled responses was contingent upon the child's modelling one of three alternative responses: operation of a ball, horn, or clicker. Experiment I showed that the children consistently modelled whichever responses the experimenter imitated. Experiment II determined whether that performance was due to differences in the amount of experimenter behavior following imitated versus nonimitated child models or to experimenter imitation. Neither reducing nor increasing the amount of experimenter behavior following the children's nonimitated models altered their modelling of imitated responses. Experiment III evaluated whether experimenter imitation of child models was a reinforcer because the child's imitative responses were reinforced on experimenter-modelled trials. In Experiment III, the children's nonimitation of experimenter-models was reinforced with praise and tokens on a schedule of differential reinforcement of other behavior, yet they continued to model experimenter-imitated responses on child-modelled trials. These results indicate behavioral similarity was reinforcing, though no conditioning history through which it acquired that function was demonstrated.

Journal Article↗