It seems beyond reasonable doubt that the importance and effecbveness of parents as social agents steins m large part from their posibon as the major source of reinforcement and sancbons m the early life of tbe child It is equally true, however, tbat by now such a gencrahzabon is httie more than a homily It provides httle gmdance toward the discovery of sigmficant formulations about bow parents achieve or exert their influence For the most part, it remains just a generalizabon based upon cultural expenence with the latter's customary vagueness and ambigmty Understanding how parents acquire and use then: influence must come from studymg them m acbon This is a fundamental insight that the student of leammg bas brougbt to developmental psychology Tbe developmental hterature of tbe past decade bas rehed heavily upon tbat version of leammg which has come to be known as reinforcement theory. This kmd of tbeory bas undergone considerable bberahzation smce the days when it was identified mamly as a focus of conflict between dnve-reducbon and cogmtive psycbologists Nevertbeless, despite its liberabzabon, it still has the attributes of a theory derived mainly from the study of animals m laboratory settmgs Because of that, at the present time, it provides httie more guidance than do common-sense views about influences on behavior Its concepts are 1 The writers gratefully acknowledge the labors of a number of people who funcboned in the dual role of data collector and cnhcal discussant R Kmg,
Defective delinquent boys have difficulty in adjusting to life on the training school campus and often become frustrated in their attempts to compete with peers. This article describes a program developed for defective delinquents by the MacLaren School for Boys. Initially, ten boys were transferred from the training school campus to a group foster home, located on a com bination farm and ranch, which provided opportunities for learn ing a variety of vocational skills. A remedial teacher gave aca demic instruction and directed craft and occupational therapy programs. The boys continued to receive professional services and supervision from the MacLaren staff. Results indicate that defective delinquents are able to adjust more adequately to this type of setting than to that of the training school. Progress was evident in both personal and social adjustment.
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