ABSTRACT
In the long run civilized cultures are not kind to hyperaggressive children. A recent survey in England, for instance, found that the great majority of teachers felt that aggressive behavior by students disturbed more classrooms than anything else and caused the most anxiety among teachers. At least partly as a result, the dropout rates for the hyperaggressives was two and one-half times as great as for “normals,” and disproportionate numbers of hyperaggressives turned up in mental clinics. First, the teacher had to be instructed in how not to reinforce aggression. Contrary to all her experience, she was asked to turn her back on the aggressor, and at the same time to reinforce others’ cooperation with tokens. The teacher’s system of scolding the youngsters for inattention and taking their attention for granted with faint approval, if any, did not work at all. To the pupils, the “Get the Teacher” game was much more satisfying.
