External variables and measurable aspects of human behaviour, biology, mind, emotions, and whatever else one cares to name are all that psychologists and other professionals concerned with behaviour change have to respond to and manipulate. A two factor model thus is proposed to maintain attention and action on goals and methods. In the course of arguing this position, some common misconceptions of the operant model are corrected.

A crucial aspect of behavioural assessment and intervention is the initial interview with the client. Although the interview is the most frequently employed method of assessment, very few published behavioural interview schedules are available to clinicians. The authors present an interview schedule for the behavioural assessment of children's problems. Hopefully, such devices will improve the reliability and validity of problem identification and facilitate effective case management.

The alternating treatments design which is increasingly being used in single subject research is described. This design allows the differential effectiveness of two or more treatments to be investigated by presenting each of them separately in closely spaced sessions, with the order of presentation alternated. Consideration is given to the types of behavior and contexts that are most appropriate for use with this design and also to factors important for ensuring its effectiveness and the valid interpretation of the resulting data.

The development of an in-service teacher training package is described which has the aim of training primary and middle school teachers to use behavioural methods of classroom management. It is shown how the package evolved from the programme of experimental behavioural research carried out by the authors in schools over the last ten years. Emphasis is placed on the on-going evaluations of successive versions of the package. The package was continually revised until it could meet the criterion of bringing about measurable changes in observed teacher behaviour and in the behaviour of primary and middle school classes. Experimental findings supporting its effectiveness are presented and discussed.

This paper addresses organisational issues associated with the effective use of Batpack, an in-service training program described by Wheldall and Merrett as aimed at training practising teachers in a number of key behavioural skills. It is argued that the key to developing training programs which have long-term maintenance of training effects is to have organisational environments which support appropriate work behaviours of teachers. This means that a careful consideration of the antecedents and consequences associated with the daily work activities of all organisational members must be carried out to ensure that training gains will not be extinguished or punished by organisational policy and practices.

Behavioural marital therapy (BMT) is a promising approach to the pervasive concern of lack of marital satisfaction. BMT produces gains in marital satisfaction which are statistically significantly superior to no treatment controls. However when more stringent criteria for success are applied, which are of greater clinical relevance, success rates are moderate. It is argued the limitations of BMT efficacy may be due to three faults in the current conceptualization and practice of BMT. Firstly, while some recognition of the role of cognitions has been made, the salient cognitions of distressed couples have not been clearly described in specific social contexts. Secondly, the cognitive interventions used do not relate clearly to identified maladaptive cognitions. Finally, the generalization of therapeutic effects has been assessed insufficiently, and generalization has not been programmed into therapeutic procedures. Specific suggestions are offered which may help to help overcome these problems.

Biofeedback procedures for stress reduction have been widely used in a variety of settings. While there are many reports of the successful application of EMG procedures for general tension-reduction with adults and children, little has been done concerning these procedures with children who suffer from a specific learning disability. The present paper reviews the use of EMG biofeedback with learning-disabled children and, after examining those studies performed to date concludes that the supportive conclusions drawn by previous authors can be criticised on methodological grounds, and that the issue of indirect treatment of learning disability via EMG biofeedback is open to discussion. Directions for future research are described.

This study investigated the effectiveness of reinforcement procedures in retraining upper extremity movement impaired as a result of cerebrovascular accident. A simply constructed instrument permitted accurate measurement of motor responding and, under some treatment conditions, provided the subject with direct feedback of movement. Experimenter praise for movement which met a pre-selected standard or criterion, in combination with binary visual feedback of performance and a knowledge of progress condition, was shown to bring about continuing improvement in the hemiplegic subject's range of supination. Praise with binary feedback alone functioned only to sustain responding at above baseline levels.

A case study is presented of a young woman with an unusual phobia, a fear of babies. Barabasz's (1977) technique of systematic desensitization using psycho-physiological measures was chosen as the main treatment strategy. Difficulties arose as the client was unable to visualise scenes involving babies. Nor could she look at photographs of babies long enough for the hierarchy to be ordered using a psycho-physiological measure (skin conductance). A set of photographs was eventually used for the hierarchy, but it was ordered in terms of the length of time the client could look at the various photographs. Systematic desensitization was carried out using the set of photographs instead of imaginary scenes, together with some in vivo exposure in the latter stages of treatment. At termination the client could approach babies without discomfort. Improvement was maintained at one year follow-up.

An extensive review of the various approaches to therapy has found that most, if not all, can be described by epithets normally attributed to behaviour therapy, such as arid, rigid and sterile. Little-known papers have shed light on what could be described as existential leaps, or paradigmatic shifts in approaching therapy, leading to the present paper. This paper describes an entirely new approach to therapy, known as Hat Therapy, which embodies a collection of techniques thread through with a unifying theory. The origins, and empirical data supporting the theory behind Hat Therapy are presented, along with an explanation of new terms necessarily coined to encompass the complexity and originality of the approach. Applications for behaviour change are also presented.