Group modification of affective verbalizations: reinforcement and therapist style effects.

Used an operant group paradigm to investigate the effects of reinforcement in combination with differing therapist styles upon affective verbalizations. Therapists' usage of direct questioning to elicit Ss' affective verbalizations proved quantitatively superior (in number of reinforceable responses) to either a no therapist or role modelling therapist condition (N = 72). There was evidence, however, that Ss in reinforced role modelling conditions were significantly better than direct elicitation Ss in predicting other group members' self-descriptions and in the degree to which Ss felt accurately perceived by others, while the reverse was true for non-reinforced Ss.

Group modification of affective verbalizations in a psychiatric population.

An operant group procedure significantly increased the frequency of here-and-now affect, feedback and empathy statements made by psychiatric patients when compared with non-reinforced patients and with base-line performances. Transfer effects were also noted when randomly selected patients from these original groups were 'seeded' into new groups during a non-reinforced session one week after training. Self-disclosure, measured by a modification of Jourard's scale, showed pre-post increases, but the expected interaction with reinforcement was non-significant (P less than 0.

Group modification of affective verbailzations: resistance to extinction and generalization effects.

An operant group procedure significantly increased the frequency of here-and-now affect, feedback, and empathy statements made by two groups of four subjects during ten one-hour sessions, divided into base line, acquisition, extinction, reacquisition and generalization periods. The continously reinforced group showed resistance to extinction, attributed in part to reinforcement by other group members when a subject made reinforceable statements. Failure of the variably reinforced group to replicate this finding was attributed in part to a less adequate conceptual grasp of the reinforcement categories resulting from the reduced feedback associated with a variable ratio schedule.