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Operant Training Of Originality In Hospitalized Adult Mental Patients, David Dennis Holt

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The thesis is a report of a pilot study in the general research area of behavioral originality. In the study operant techniques were used to train originality in hospitalized mentally ill or mentally retarded subjects (Ss). Originality of behavior was defined in terms of the observable behavior of the Ss in the research setting. Original responses were defined as verbal responses different from recorded baseline verbalizations for one subject (S) and motor responses different from previously observed motor responses for each of three Ss.