EFFECTS OF CHILD BEHAVIOR CHANGE ON TEACHER VERBAL BEHAVIOR AND RATING OF STUDENT BEHAVIOR1

Abstract

The relationship between student behavior change and its effect on teacher behavior was investigated. A total of six boys and their two male teachers from two fourth‐grade classrooms served as subjects. In two multiple‐baseline experiments, students were exposed successively to baseline, placebo‐therapy (a control for teacher expectation of student change), active‐therapy (contingencies for student behavior improvement), and a return to placebo‐therapy phases. As student behavior (the independent variable) improved, daily teacher ratings of children improved moderately, and the percentage of teacher vocalizations in response to appropriate (as compared with inappropriate) child behavior increased markedly. The latter shift in the distribution of teacher vocalizations was found to be largely attributable to the increased availability of appropriate behavior to which teachers could respond. This study raises questions about similar findings in an earlier experiment by Sherman and Cormier (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1974, 7, 11–21). First, the main measure of teacher verbal behavior in both this and the earlier study was considered to be insufficient as a measure of teacher change. It did not control for the expected effects of changes in the base rate of student appropriate behavior. Second, student behavior improvement did not appear to reinforce teacher behavior. This was attributed to the noncontingency of student improvement on any class of teacher behaviors. The possible reinforcing value of student behavior improvement for teachers was not challenged. Implications of rating changes were also discussed.