ABSTRACT
Children have become an increasingly popular client population for behavioristically oriented therapists. Some reasons for the widespread use of learning-theory-based therapy for children’s problems may be the comparative brevity of the treatment, the relative ease with which children’s social environments can be controlled, and the types of maladaptive behaviors for which children are often referred for treatment. An important element of most behavioristic treatment interventions is the manipulation of the client’s environment so that undesirable behavior patterns are eliminated and prosocial responses are positively reinforced (Ullmann and Krasner, 1965, Ch. 1). The requisite environmental control is often easier to achieve for children in their homes and schools than in the typically more complex and varied social interactions of noninstitutionalized adults. Since the young child spends the major part of his time either among his family or at school, the therapist can effectively manipulate the child’s social experiences by instructing a fairly small group of people, the teacher and parents. Moreover, these people have considerable control over the child, and are specifically responsible for the child’s welfare and for teaching him appropriate behavior patterns.
