title: The effects of modelling on the contingent praise of mental retardation counsellors.
abstract: A multiple-baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of a simple modelling procedure on the contingent praise of five counsellors while they conducted hygiene-training sessions in toothbrushing and hand-and-face washing with severely retarded children. After varying numbers of baseline sessions, each counsellor watched a model who conducted a series of toothbrushing sessions, in which he conspicuously praised correct toothbrushing responses and approximations to correct responses. No modelling occurred during hand-and-face washing sessions. As a result of several exposures to the model's performance, levels of response-contingent praise provided by four of the five counsellors during toothbrushing sessions increased sharply over baseline. The levels of counsellor praise showed parallel increases during hand-and-face washing sessions. A two-week followup showed that the levels of praise obtained through modelling were maintained in the model's absence.
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002648:Child; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D005260:Female; D005794:Generalization, Response; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D008297:Male; D012057:Reinforcement, Verbal