Setting generality: some specific and general effects of child behavior therapy.

One child got rewards at home for good behavior. The team watched the same kid at school.

They wanted to see if fixing behavior at home would also fix it at school without extra work.

Bad behavior at home dropped fast. School behavior stayed the same.

The change stayed in the living room. It did not walk into the classroom.

Berler et al. (1982) later showed moms trained as therapists kept home gains alive for up to nine years and the kids looked typical in class. Their longer follow-up extends this 1969 warning: you need parent skill-building, not just prizes.

Yuwiler et al. (1992) used high-probability request sequences and saw child compliance jump at home and with new teachers. Their built-in generalization tactics solved the very transfer problem Wahler (1969) left open.

de Graaf et al. (2008) pooled 55 parent programs like this one. The meta says home rewards work, but bigger packages such as Triple P add generalization lessons, confirming the 1969 gap and showing how to close it.

Do not assume home success will bloom at school. Write a plan that teaches the new skill in every place it must live. Add practice in the hallway, cafeteria, and gym. Train parents to cue and reward outside the living room. Check data in both settings for at least two weeks. If gains stay stuck at home, roll in high-p sequences or brief school practice sessions until the child behaves the same everywhere.