Application of Behavioural Analysis and Behaviour Modification in School Psychological Service Practice

Behaviour modification in education has come a long way since the early 1960's when workers such as Zimmerman and Zimmerman (1962) and Ferster (1967) took learning theory out of the animal laboratory and into the classroom. Today the problem is not to locate books, articles and pamphlets on behaviour modification but to select the most useful material from an extensive and expanding range. This has not been achieved without a backlash no less vitriolic for not always being well informed (Burden, 1976; Quicke 1976). Nevertheless, some of the criticisms should be taken seriously. Graham (1974) has complained of the rigidity of some behaviour modifiers, and the hargon-laden style of many articles is admirably calculated to deter teachers and parents (not to mention psychologists and psychiatrists); it is only quite recently, for example, that a majority of authors have discovered that calling children by their names–instead of “S”—is not inconsistent with clarity or accuracy.