The study examined the efficacy of familiarity and positive verbal reinforcement in improving intelligence test scores of 48 third-graders who were low scorers on a previous test. The Quick Test was used to screen subjects, with a 90 IQ score being the criterion for inclusion in the study. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four groups. The examiner met with members of the familiarity groups on three occasions for twenty minutes each, for the three weeks immediately prior to testing. Positive verbal reinforcement was given to these experimental groups after the first, second, and third item of each subtest regardless of accuracy. Neutral, non-evaluative comments were given to members of the control group at the same points in testing. All subjects were administered five subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. A two-way analysis of variance was used to test the hypotheses. Simple effects were also tested in all cases where the interactions were significant. The results indicated that the treatment procedures did affect the test scores obtained on three of the subtests. Explanations for the findings are postulated, and the implications discussed. (Author)