Studies in positive psychology, including happiness, well-being, and life satisfaction, are reviewed. The preponderance of the research literature on the promotion of positive psychology tends to focus on broad social competences. However, there is an emerging body of evidence that supports employing specific techniques that are more amenable to…

This school-based study analyzed the impact of RGI on lung functioning (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV[subscript 1]] and forced expiratory flow 25-75 [FEF[subscript 25-75]]) and by employing a multiple baseline design across 3 high school students with asthma and clinically diagnosed anxiety disorders. The RGI intervention took place for a…

The intent of this preliminary study is to explore the effectiveness of self-modeling in altering maladaptive behavior in children through the mediating effect of modifying their autobiographical memories of their dysfunctional behaviors. We proposed that the alteration of inappropriate classroom behaviors afforded by the self-modeling…

Fluency, or the rate at which a student reads, is developed in the early stages of literacy and has been shown to correlate with comprehension. A myriad of interventions have been developed to increase fluency. Group contingencies are one of these that in particular have shown some positive effects on reading fluency. Advantages to using them are…

Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. Children who are overweight tend to participate in fewer activities, to withdraw from social situations, and to be less physically active than their normal-weight peers. Additionally, they have lower self-image and often suffer from depression. Research on children's perceptions of overweight…

There is a great deal of research revealing how asthma is influenced by psychological variables such as symptom perception and negative emotions. Psychologically based treatments including biofeedback, yoga, hypnosis, stress management, relaxation and guided imagery, and written-emotional expression have all been effective in improving pulmonary…

Investigates the effect of randomizing both contingencies for reinforcement and reinforcers to decrease classroom disruptive behavior in five adolescent students with serious emotional disorder. Results reveal that the percentage of observed intervals of disruptive behaviors decreased immediately and dramatically in all students. (Contains 24…

This review clarifies the vaguely defined and perplexing terminology that historically has been used in the descriptions of group contingencies. Group contingencies are reviewed and categorized as independent, interdependent, and dependent based on the seminal work of Litow and Pumroy. Further, group contingencies, based on these categorizations,…

The study investigated the effectiveness of self-modeling as an intervention for public speaking anxiety. The participants were six high school students with elevated levels of self-reported public speaking anxiety. Students presented public speeches to randomly selected peer audiences. Direct observations measured the behavioral manifestations of…

Describes the treatment of three children experiencing selective mutism. The procedure utilized incorporated self-modeling, mystery motivators, self-reinforcement, stimulus fading, spacing, and antidepressant medication. All three children evidenced a complete cessation of selective mutism and maintained their treatment gains at follow-up.…

Considers individual differences in cognitive and social functioning and how and why those differences are measured. Presents some issues that are believed to be historically important to the development of testing, particularly intelligence testing, and consequently to the practice of school psychology. Discusses some continuing problems with…