Relapse following a behaviour modification program is not unusual, especially when contingencies indigenous to the system tend to favor baseline performance. To avoid such a risk, a preliminary analysis of current and past contingencies operating within the system needs to be conducted. Sometimes, alterations need to be made to permit specific strategies of change to match system demands. Important to examine also are the target response's schedule history, contemporary rates, degree of fluency, intrinsically reinforcing and/or punishing properties and the stimuli, such as rules, routine events and others that set the stage for its occurrence. Rule governance and time management may be especially helpful in the latter regard. Ultimately, lasting change depends upon both the immediate and ultimate long range impact of an intervention upon a system. Benefits must outweigh costs right away and later on, and be clearly reflected on the bottom line.

Behavioural psychotherapy has been demonstrated as the treatment of choice in most forms of serious mental disorders. In some instances it interacts synergistically with drug therapies. The Buckingham Project is a field trial of a comprehensive mental health service that employs behavioural analysis and therapy in the management of all cases of adult disorders occurring in an epidemiologically defined population. A multi-disciplinary team provide in vivo treatment. Results suggest that the incidence and prevalence of major episodes of mental illness have been substantially reduced and that the need for traditional hospital-based care has been minimised. The significance of this project for planning health services and for the future of behavioural psychotherapy is discussed.

In order to encourage research in generalisation, Drabman, Hammer, and Rosenbaum (1979) introduced a framework to categorise the various generalised effects of child behaviour therapy. Sixteen different potential classes of generalisation were identified. To ascertain the current status of generalisation in the child behaviour therapy literature and further encourage generalisation research, we reviewed articles that appeared in 28 journals over the past 12 years. Of 15,141 studies, only 424 involved children and presented data on generalisation. Results indicated that: (a) a small percentage of studies both involved children and presented data on generalisation (2.77%), (b) of these studies, most failed to meet our methodological criteria for demonstrating generalisation, (c) the generalisation map categories of time, maintenance, setting, and setting-time were the most frequently encountered, (d) there was a significant increase in reported instances of maintenance generalisation effects over the past 10 years when compared with data from our earlier paper, and (e) generalisation data were found concerning 15 of the 16 map classes. Implications of these data, methods of conceptualising generalisation, the generalisation trap, and antecedent strategies for promoting generalisation are discussed.

Proponents of between-group experimentation are quick to point out that parametric methods are superior to the experimental analysis of individual responses on the grounds that group statistical designs have external validity by virtue of random sampling and standardised rules and conventions for hypothesis testing. In contrast, advocates of single-case experimental designs invariably invoke the argument that a major limitation of between-group methodology is that the averaging of results masks individual differences. The data presented illustrate some strengths and weaknesses of both procedures and demonstrate that generalising from groups to individuals can be practically useless.

The problems of relapse and recidivism have received increasing attention in smoking research over the past ten years. Researchers and clinicians alike have come to understand smoking as a complex process consisting of a number of stages. This paper reviews recent models and theories of the change process as well as those studies which have examined the determinants of the quitting process. Finally, the implications of these developments for smoking cessation strategies directed at the prevention of relapse are discussed.

This study describes the effectiveness of using, then fading, a response cost procedure to reduce the frequency of persistent nosepicking by a 7-year old boy in a school classroom. The procedure which was employed by the class teacher and a teacher aide was easily implemented. Substantial success was achieved.

This study examined the impact and side effects of a cognitive behavioural program for the treatment of recurrent abdominal pain (R.A.P.) on children's behavioural adjustment and family functioning. It assessed the extent to which changes in children's pain symptoms covaried with family processes thought to be etiologically significant in cases of R.A.P. Results showed that pain symptoms of both experimental and control children improved significantly six months after initial assessment. Treatment achieved its objectives more quickly with a higher proportion of completely pain-free children. None of the measures of child adjustment or family conflict, expressiveness, independence or achievement orientation were associated with changes in pain intensity ratings or parent observational measures of pain behaviour. There was no evidence that treatment was associated with any negative side effects.

Cognitive behaviour therapists have argued that certain types of maladaptive thoughts cause affective distress and psychological problems faced by the individuals. The paper reports on a scale which assesses the degree to which peoples' thoughts and real-life experiences cause negative affect and positive affect (the THARL Scale). The Scale has been found to be a reliable and valid instrument.

The present study examined the effects of response-cost on unpunished free-operant responses. Three university students made key-press responses on a computer keyboard and won and lost money as reinforcement and punishment, respectively. Only one response was ever reinforced or punished, but all responses were recorded. When response-cost was introduced for the target response, both target and non-target responses decreased. Whereas the target response remained at a low level throughout the punishment phase, most non-target responses eventually increased to their baseline levels. Of the three theoretical predictions assessed, support was found only for the proposition that the response that follows the punished response most frequently during baseline is reduced during the punishment phase.

General practice is a critical setting for the identification, assessment, treatment, follow-up and onward referral of smokers. General practitioners (GPs) are in a unique position to play a part in reducing preventable morbidity and mortality attributable to tobacco use. During the past decade, numerous trials have been conducted in general practice and have shown that GP intervention with smokers has a variable degree of success depending on the intensity of contact. Although there are many positive reasons for GP involvement, there are also barriers to implementing smoking cessation strategies in general practice. In this paper we discuss some of these issues. The Stages of Change framework developed by Prochaska and DiClemente (1986) has been used to describe the stages a smoker goes through in the process of becoming a non-smoker. However, the incorporation of smoking cessation interventions in a GP's routine practice also involves a process of psychological change. In this paper, therefore, we apply the Stages of Change model to GPs' recognition, uptake and maintenance of smoking cessation interventions.

Detailed neuropsychological investigation of a schizophrenic patient found a deficit in functions usually attributed to the left parieto-occipital region. Interventions designed to exercise the putatively left parieto-occipital functions (‘understanding the verbal expression of spatial relationships’) and to exercise putatively right hemisphere functions (exercises based on Edwards' — ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain’) were compared. The patient demonstrated lowest levels of hallucinatory behaviour, aggressive verbal outbursts, and physical aggression during phases when right hemisphere exercises were programmed. Possible reasons for this outcome are examined.

This study examined independent engagement in leisure activities of six institutionalised persons with profound multiple handicaps. Independent engagement was defined as manipulating leisure materials in the absence of concurrent resident-staff interactions. A 10-month intervention comprised leisure materials enrichment, assignment of staff duties including leisure activities manager, staff training and supervision. A time-series reversal design with momentary time sampled observations was used. Results showed increases and maintenance of not only engagement accompanied by staff interaction, but also of independent engagement. Resident-staff interaction was also increased and maintained. Problems and directions for future research are discussed.

The address examines qualities of behavioural therapists since the inception of ABMA. Attention is also given to current issues that require objective analysis; especially issues of individual and social responsibility, the role of families, and adult relationships. There is a need to identify frameworks that assist objective analyses of social situations. A behavioural decision-making approach appears useful for analysing responsibility, as the approach includes concepts to describe both individual choice and social pressures, allowing an assessment of the extent to which individuals or groups should change. There is also a need to find objective measures of values, both of individuals and of small groups. We can expect to see further changes in behavioural theories as more concepts and principles are introduced by behavioural practitioners who address current social problems.

Compared to the study of adult fears, childhood fears have not been extensively investigated in terms of their psychophysiological bases. However, limited findings suggest that children exhibit psychophysiological reactivity to fear-eliciting stimuli. Other data suggest that fear imagery produces psychophysiological arousal and that youngsters may be trained in fear imagery. Psychophysiological measures have also been used in the evaluation of desensitisation as seen in a limited number of case studies, single-subject experimental analyses and group outcome comparisons. In general, psychophysiological changes have been reported that are suggestive of reduced autonomic arousal. Methodological and theoretical issues are discussed including the selection of psychophysiological measures and the desynchrony between measures of fear.

Effective mass-reach smoking-cessation interventions are required in order to accelerate the decline in the prevalence of smoking in Australia and other industrialised countries. Such large-scale interventions still rely, to a major extent, on theoretical principles derived from research with clinical or other opportunistic samples. Schachter (1982) argues that this type of research provides information which is unrepresentative of smokers in the general population. We compared a population-probability sample with a sample of smokers enrolling in a smoking-cessation program offered by a community health centre. The health centre sample was composed of predominantly female, older smokers who had higher smoking rates, had made more previous attempts to stop smoking, and tended to attribute their last relapse to irritability. We discuss some potential implications for research relevant to population-wide smoking control strategies.

A system of assessing social competence based on empirical analysis of a sample of non-referred subjects was applied to a group of subjects referred for social skills training. Scores obtained with the system discriminated between the referred and non-referred subjects. Data also supported the use of the system to evaluate changes which occurred during the course of the training program. However, this finding was not uniform across all subjects. Discussion centres on the variables which might account for this lack of uniformity and on further applications for the system as a research and therapy tool.

This paper evaluates the impact of a large scale campaign to encourage increased protection from solar ultra violet radiation (UVR). Broadly representative household surveys were conducted both before and after the campaign. The initial survey showed high levels of awareness of a skin protection message. The survey following the campaign showed large increases in awareness of the campaign slogan. There were high levels of reporting about taking extra precautions for sun protection and of encouraging other people, particularly children, to increase their sun protection. Within the limitations of the design, the results are interpreted as demonstrating an impact of the campaign. There is high community awareness of the need to take precautions against overexposure to solar UVR, coupled with high knowledge of appropriate behaviours and increased reporting of actually taking these precautions.