Relaxation procedures and anxiety relief were reviewed. Effects of cognitive and expectancy variables in reduction of avoidance behavior were also extensively reviewed. Various theoretical models for desensitization were presented. Use of symbolic control in classical conditioning and use of self-control methods in anxiety reduction were discussed. Special emphasis was given to self-desensitization and cue controlled relaxation. One goal of the experiment was to determine whether a musical stimulus associated with counter anxiety procedures could reduce or prevent subjects' phobic responses in the presence of the phobic situation. Another goal was to determine the relative efficacy of two counter anxiety procedures (anxiety relief and progressive muscle relaxation) in lowering muscle tension and in reducing or preventing speech anxiety. Several implications were drawn from the study. Relaxation alone may alleviate anxiety and phobic behavior without being paired with phobic stimuli. Cognitive variables such as expectancy and feedback of progress make a substantial contribution to treatment of situational anxiety. Progressive muscle relaxation may not be the technique of choice for producing low levels of muscle tension. Recommendations for future research were specified, including additional measures and control procedures.

The study investigated the relationships between perceived contingency of parental rewarding and punishing behaviors and locus. of control. Scores on Levenson's Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance locus of control scales were correlated with scores on Yates, Kennelly, and Cox's (1975) Perceived Contingency of Rewards and Punishments Questionnaire. Few significant correlations were obtained. Maternal non-contingent reward related negatively and significantly to internality for males. Paternal non-contingent reward related positively and significantly to males' perception of control by powerful others. And paternal contingent reward related negatively and significantly to females' perceptions of control by chance. Results are discussed relative to learned helplessness research interpretations.

Responses of 111 doctoral clinical psychology students to Garfield and Kurtz' (1973) Testing Attitude Scale were subjected to a 2 x 2 factorial analysis. Attitudes toward psychodiagnostic testing were found to be related both to academic versus nonacademic professional expectations (academics scoring more negatively, M = 32.69, than nonacademics, M = 37.19), F (1, 107) = 5.994, p < 0.016, and to internship training exposure (non-interns scoring more negatively, M = 34.64, than interns, M = 38.80), F (1, 107) = 10.321, p< 0.002. Results paralleled previous research on academic and nonacademic working psychologists' attitudes. Similarities in students' and role models' attitudes were discussed in terms of Kelman's (1953; 1958), Festinger's (1957), and Bem's (1970) attitude theories. Results seemed to imply continued controversy over both the desirability of producing psychodiagnostically oriented clinicians, and also traditional paradigms of psychodiagnostic training.

This investigation focused on an empirical evaluation of the efficacy of preventative systematic desensitization, a recently developed psychotherapeutic technique intended to preclude the formation of a phobic or adverse autonomic reaction. While earlier research suggested the therapeutic viability of this technique, various methodological difficulties inherent in the experimental designs negated any clear an unequivocal statements regarding therapeutic efficacy. The design of the experiment central to this dissertation was developed expressly to avoid the methodological problems which characterized prior research, expand upon the hypothesis of earlier investigators, and evaluate the effectiveness of prophylactic desensitization. The following results were obtained: (a) the experimental group did not show an increase in fear on the dependent measures following conditioning, (b) the placebo control group did show a significant increase in fear on the dependent measures following conditioning, (c) the group that received traditional systematic desensitization showed a significant fear increase after conditioning which was reduced to baseline following systematic desensitization, and (d) the measurements control group confirmed the above result and showed no significant differences in fear at retests. The major conclusion of this experiment is that within the context of the laboratory, it would appear that preventive systematic desensitization is an efficient psychotherapeutic …

This investigation is concerned with demonstrating the effects of an easily managed classroom contingency-management treatment package on increasing arithmetic performance while decreasing disruptive behavior for whole classes of students. The study proposed, among other things, that programs differ in the degree to which each student must depend upon other students for reinforcement

This study investigated whether a salicylate-restricted diet (eliminating foods containing artificial additives and natural salicylates) could effectively reduce hyperactivity in children more so than a diet not restricting salicylates (ostensibly restricting foods containing refined sugar). Ten hyperactive children, nine boys and one girl, were matched on their pre-treatment activity rates and assigned to either a salicylate-restricted diet (Group I) or a diet not restricting salicylates (Group II). After approximately nine weeks, post-treatment activity rates were obtained, and a significant difference in favor of the salicylate-restricted diet group was found with this diet group exhibiting a significantly lower mean post-treatment activity rate in comparison to the group placed on a diet not restricting salicylates (p<.05). Implications for diagnosis and treatment of hyperactivity in children were discussed.