Behavior Modification--What It Is and How to Do It (6th Edition) [Paperback]

Garry Martin (Author), Joseph Pear (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130807427 | ISBN-13: 978-0130807427 | Publication Date: July 6, 1998 | Edition: 6

For freshman through senior-level courses in Behavior Modification, Applied Behavior Analysis, or Behavior Therapy. Assuming no prior knowledge of behavior modification or psychology, this widely-adopted text offers students personal, hands-on experience with the principles of behavior modification and their application to everyday concerns -- from helping children learn life's necessary skills to solving some of their own personal behavior problems. Written in a very readable style -- with numerous real-life examples -- it features extensive descriptions of the particulars of program design, implementation, and evaluation -- and includes summary how-to guidelines for most chapters.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This popular introduction to behavior modification offers readers personal, "hands-on" experience with the principles of behavior modification and their application to everyday concerns -- from helping children and adults learn life's necessary -- or coping -- skills, to solving some of their own personal behavior problems. Easy to read and filled with numerous real-life examples, it features extensive descriptions and "how-to" guidelines for the particulars of program design, implementation, and evaluation. Focuses on principles of behavior modification and detailed "how-to" strategies, but discusses theoretical issues and empirical support in separate Notes and Extended Discussions. Contains numerous summary guidelines for applying behavioral principles to solve a wide variety of problems in many settings with different populations. Features an entire chapter that itemizes the steps in the behavior modification from referral to follow-up. Includes numerous references to applications in a wide variety of professional areas. Contains detailed descriptions of different types of programs -- e.g., token economies, self-control programs, cognitive treatments, case studies, etc. Offers detailed treatment of ethical issues. An ideal reference/handbook for counselors, clinical psychologists, rehabilitation counselors, applied behavior analysts, developmental disabilities workers, psychiatric nurses, elementary school teachers, special education teachers, behavior managers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, social workers, and psychiatrists.

About the Author

Garry Martin, a native Manitoban, attended Colorado College on a hockey scholarship, where he received the BA degree. He then attended Arizona State University for the MA and PhD degrees. Garry returned to Manitoba in 1966 and taught in the Department of Psychology at the University of Manitoba until his retirement at the end of 2008. He is currently a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the U of M, and he continues to supervise graduate students, teach part-time, and write and publish. He has co-authored or co-edited 8 books and over 150 journal articles on various areas in behavioral psychology. His book, Behavior Modification: What It Is and How to Do It, with Dr. Joseph Pear, first published in 1978, is used as a primary text at many universities in 14 countries and various editions have been translated into Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Korean. His research on behavioral training technologies for improving the quality of life of people with developmental disabilities and children with autism has been supported continuously by the Medical Research Council of Canada, and now the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the past 32 years. He has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences around the world. He has supervised 38 Masters theses, and 32 PhD theses at the University of Manitoba, and has received numerous honors and awards, including induction into the Royal Society of Canada. At the 2010 Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Garry received the CPA Education and Training Award, the most prestigious education and training award the discipline confers in Canada.

 

Dr. Joseph J. Pear, Professor of Psychology at the University of Manitoba, received the B.S. degree from the University of Maryland and the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from The Ohio State University. A fellow of Division 6 (Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology) and Division 25 (Behavior Analysis) of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Pear has done both basic and applied research. His early applied work was with children with developmental disabilities at the St. Amant Centre, where he founded the Behaviour Modification Unit (now the Psychology Department) in the early 1970s. More recently, he developed Computer-Aided Personal System of Instruction (CAPSI), an instructional program based on the Keller Plan. CAPSI is an award winning program that is being used to teach a number of courses at University of Manitoba and at several other universities in Canada and the United States. It is also a research tool that Dr. Pear and his graduate students use to research the teaching and learning dimensions of university education. Dr. Pear has also done basic research with pigeons and fish using a tracking system that he developed. In addition to Behavior Modification: What It Is and How to Do It with Dr. Garry Martin, Dr. Pear has written two other books: The Science of Learning and A Historical and Contemporary Look at Psychological Systems. He has also written numerous research articles and two encyclopedia articles: “Psychological Systems” in The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology (Fourth Edition) and “Physiological Homeostasis and Learning” in Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. He has received awards for Outstanding Contribution to Behaviour Analysis in Manitoba and for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Technology. He also received the Fred S. Keller Behavioral Education Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 444 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall College Div; 6 edition (July 6, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130807427
• ISBN-13: 978-0130807427
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #648,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Textbook, But Not, April 24, 2003

By 

Terry Gruber "sturmvogel" (WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Behavior Modification: What It Is and How to Do It (7th Edition) (Paperback)

I used this book as a special education undergraduate. I found it contained all of the essential information in a format that was not bogged down with technical language. I have since loaned the book to several parents who found its information useful and its style easy and unintimidating. It is full of common, everyday examples in order to help one transition from the theoretical to the concrete.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A practical book that works, April 4, 2008

By 

Douglas Setter (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Behavior Modification: What It Is and How to Do It (7th Edition) (Paperback)

There is a ton of usable information in this book. The problem is getting past the jargon and text book manner in which it is written. It really is more for university students than the lay person. Keep in mind that it is a text book for 2 consecutive psychology semesters. So, if the answers do not jump out at you, then do not get frustrated. I have read it through a few times and still do not grasp some of it. If you have the patience to apply something as simple as the operant conditioning, you can actually make a habit within a month. For instance, I used to reward myself with 15 minutes of fiction reading for every chapter of biology that I read. Result? I went from a D to a B within a couple of months. I have helped some of my clients do the same procedure with quitting smoking and sticking with fitness plans. This book is one of the few university text books that I kept after my degree.

Doug Setter, Bachelor of Human Ecology, author of Stomach Flattening and One Less Victim

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars behavior modification must have, March 18, 2008

By 

K. L. Smith (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Behavior Modification: What It Is And How To Do It, 8th Edition (Paperback)

This is a very detailed book about behavior modification. It literally traces the history of behavioral modification from its origins and progresses into actual techniques that can be used in a variety of setting. Some of the chapters are quite dense, yet interesting. There is a comprehensive summary and the authors do a wonderful job with breaking down large units of information into readable points. There is a useful guide for functional analysis provided. The behavior contract is generic, but a decent basis for a individualized one. Finally, many behavioral methods are explained in simple terms and there are numerous examples that illustrate their usefulness.