Techniques of behavioral self-control were employed in a class where a high level of ontask behavior had been established with externally administered reinforcement procedures. The behavioral self-control techniques maintained behavior at its ongoing high level both immediately following the externally administered reinforcement treatments and during follow-up treatments after five and seven weeks. Variability in on-task behavior was reduced during the behavioral self-control phases of the study.Classroom behavior that is independent of teacher control or control by any agent external to the learner is a commonly acknowledged primary goal of education. A practical means of attaining this goal lies in the development of procedures of behavioral self-control in classroom settings.A conceptual base for the analysis of selfcontrol is offered below in terms of four behavioral components. Bandura and Perloff (1967) outlined a similar conceptual system. The components are:(1) self-assessment-the individual may examine his own behavior and decide whether or not he has performed a specific behavior or class of behaviors.( 2) Various recent studies have employed one or more, but not all, of these components. For example, the self-monitoring procedures of McFall (1970) and Thomas, Abrams, and Johnson (1971) incorporated both self-recording and self-assessment. Usually, the behavioral self-control components are combined with experimenter imposed restrictions (Kanfer, Bradley, and Marston, 1962;Kanfer and Duerfeldt, 1967).While there is a considerable body of literature dealing with the components of behavioral self-control (Kanfer and Marston, 1963;Marston, 1964;Goldiamond, 1965;Bandura and Whalen, 1966;Bandura, Grusec, and Menlove, 1967;Masters, 1968;Chapman, Smith, and Layden, 1971) only a few studies have been conducted in classroom settings. Lovitt and Curtiss (1969) found that with a 12-yr-old student, higher rates of responding occurred when the student arranged the contingency requirements than when the teacher specified them. The contingency manager, not the reinforce-105 1973, 63, [105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113] NUMBER 1 (SPRING 1973)

The natural rates of teacher verbal approval and disapproval in ten grade-seven classrooms were determined and compared with those described by White (1975). Although there were differences in the observation techniques used and the behavioral, cultural, and ethnic groups sampled, the results were similar. The majority of the teachers displayed individual rates of disapproval that were higher than their individual approval rates. The correlations between levels of on-task behavior and approval and disapproval rates were low. The issues raised by these findings are discussed in terms of directions for further research.DESCRIPTORS: child behavior, classroom reinforcement, teacher approval, disapproval, natural rates of verbal reinforcement, on-task behavior, children White (1975) asked how rates of teacher verbal reinforcement operate to maintain or increase the school behavior of pupils. She

AUCKLAND PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICEBehavioral self-control procedures, composed of self-assessment, self-recording, selfdetermination and administration of reinforcement, were introduced into a regular third-grade classroom immediately after a baseline period. The procedures produced a small and unstable increase in the level of on-task behavior in eight of the nine subjects. After a second baseline period, a cueing procedure was introduced, using a chart specifying on-task behavior. This enabled within-lesson changes in on-task behavior to be posted clearly for the children. The cueing procedure combined with the selfcontrol procedures produced a high and stable increase in on-task behavior in all subjects.Several studies have effectively used behavioral self-control procedures (e.g., Broden, Hall, and Mitts, 1971;Lovitt and Curtiss, 1969). Bandura and Perloff (1967) and Glynn, Thomas, and Shee (1973) put forward a conceptual base for the analysis of behavioral selfcontrol that incorporates the following four components:(1) Self-assessment. The individual may examine his own behavior and decide whether or not he has performed a specific behavior or class of behaviors. (2) Self-recording. The

Being able to assess one's own performance would seem to be prerequisite to most forms of self-management. The present study investigated the extent to which children in a typical second-grade classroom could accurately assess their own academic on-task behavior. In essence, this investigation replicated an experiment by Glynn and Thomas (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1974, 7, 299-306) and extended those findings, by studying self-assessment over a longer span of time. The 31 children in the class ranged in age from 7 yr five months to 8 yr six months. Although only eight "problem" children were observed and studied, the self-control treatment procedures were applied to all children in the class. Behavior was observed daily during mathematics lessons for over eight school weeks. The study utilized a five-phase ABABC design, where the A phases were baseline periods, B phases were self-control periods, and C phase was a postcheck. In the self-control phases, children were asked by the teacher to put a check on their own individual performance card if they were on-task when a signal sounded. If they were not on-task, they were instructed not to touch their card. Typically, 15 to 20 signals occurred per 40-min session. At the end of the lesson, children were allowed to choose games to play according to how many checks they had earned. During all experimental phases, observers measured children's on-task behavior. Other observers measured the children's accuracy of self-assessment in the self-control phases. The results showed noticeable increases in the daily mean on-task behavior scores in the self-control phases following baseline phases. Also, a high level of on-task behavior was maintained in the postcheck phase. The variances of on-task behavior scores during the self-control phases were noticeably smaller than those in the baseline phases. Generally, individual data reflected group results, with some minor differences. Levels of accuracy of selfassessment varied from very accurate (95% of the time) to relatively inaccurate (56% of the time). The overall level of accuracy for all children was 78%. No consistent individual pattern appeared across phases. Some children got better as the study proceeded and some got worse. Most subjects tended to give themselves too much reinforcement, rather than too little. Peer social surveillance appeared to be the major factor that influenced individuals' evaluation of their own behavior, even though the teacher did make some control remarks in regard to how the children marked their cards. The results also demonstrated that self-control techniques can increase on-task behavior in a classroom with no history of external reinforcement, and that these techniques can have a lasting effect for more than two months of a school year.

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