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The key pecking of pigeons that was maintained by a 60‐sec random‐interval schedule of food reinforcement was suppressed during a variable‐duration warning stimulus that signalled a 5‐min extinction period. The onset of the extinction period immediately followed the termination of the warning signal and was independent of the subject's responses. All subjects eventually showed nearly complete suppression of responding during the warning stimulus.

Operant conditioning was studied in six specimens of Octopus cyaneus Gray. An “arm‐out‐of‐water” operant, in which the octopus inserted an arm up a feeding‐tube breaking the water surface, proved susceptible to reinforcement schedules. An apparatus was developed that provided automated reinforcement and recording. Performance was studied under continuous reinforcement, fixed‐ratio and variable‐ratio schedules, and extinction conditions.

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Pigeons were trained to respond to stimuli from a continuous stimulus dimension (tonal frequency) with response values from a continuous response dimension. Both the number of points of correspondence and problem difficulty were varied. After training, subjects were tested with stimulus values intermediate to those trained. During these test tones, subjects emitted only those response values reinforced during training. The study suggested that if there are fast and efficient methods to obtain control of a continuous response dimension by a continuous stimulus dimension, these methods must depend on factors other than simple generalization.

A preference measure was employed with children to evaluate the conditioned positive reinforcing function of a stimulus that preceded reinforcement. A match‐to‐sample procedure was arranged in which subjects could respond to either the form or color dimension of a compound sample stimulus. Intermittent token reinforcement was provided equally for color and form matches. Two stimuli were employed (Stimulus A and Stimulus B), each consisting of a distinctive tone and colored light. One of these stimuli (the paired stimulus) preceded each token delivery, and the other did not (nonpaired stimulus). The paired stimulus was dependent upon each response to one match dimension, and the nonpaired stimulus followed each response to the other dimension. Three of the five subjects responded primarily to the dimension that was followed by the paired stimulus. This effect was obtained regardless of which stimulus (A or B) was paired and on which match dimension (color or form) the paired stimulus was dependent. These results were unaltered by discontinuing the nonpaired stimulus. The other two subjects demonstrated consistent preferences for the form dimension and Stimulus A, respectively.

Sound was presented to monkeys through one of two loudspeakers, each adjacent to a response key. A response on the key adjacent to the sound source was reinforced (correct response). A response on the other key produced a timeout (incorrect response). Under these conditions, over 90% of responses were correct within one or two sessions. When the procedure was changed so that a response on either key was reinforced independently of which speaker was sounding, similar control by location developed within one or two sessions. When conditions were modified by moving the keys away from the immediate vicinity of the speakers, the animals required about 20 sessions to reach a stable level of greater than 90% correct responses under differential reinforcement conditions. No control by location developed under nondifferential reinforcement conditions.

Classrooms have recently been criticized as total institutions where there is a rigid preoccupation with order and control, and where children are required to be still, to be silent, and to obey. Behavior modification has been described as a major source of change in the classroom. A review of this journal's papers on behavior modification in the classroom indicated that inappropriate behavior has been consistently defined as behavior that interferes with order, quiet, and stillness. It is argued therefore, that behavior modification has supported rather than changed the questionable status quo. Alternative areas for behavior modification in traditional classrooms and the role of behavior modification in the development of open classrooms are discussed.

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