Increasing peer praise of socially rejected delinquent youth: Effects on cooperation and acceptance.

This study assessed the effects of positive peer reporting (PPR) on the cooperative behaviors and peer acceptance of 3 socially rejected, delinquent youths (2 males and 1 female) in residential care. PPR involved rewarding classroom peers with token points for publicly praising the social behavior of target students. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline was used to assess the effects of the procedure. Results indicated that PPR increased the use of cooperative statements made to peers. For all 3 students, PPR also led to increases in their peer status. Social validity measures indicated high treatment acceptability and a match between the amount of cooperative behavior emitted by participants and randomly selected classmates. Findings support the use of peers as sources of reinforcement for a rejected youth's prosocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)