by Register-Guard Staff
Gerald R. Patterson, professor of psychology and education at the University of Oregon has been awarded a $25,467 Research Scientist Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
The award is renewable for three more years at approximately the same level.
Patterson is doing research on family interaction and ways in which it can be modified. He is utilizing both clinic and home observation techniques.
He is also participating in a team study with other members of the psychology faculty on the control of conflict in small groups. The study, announced this past summer, is funded by a $210,000 grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research.
Engaged in child psychology research for nearly 15 years, he and other psychologists have become dissatisfied with the traditional techniques for treating deviant children which normally involve 40 to 50 hours of treatment per child.
He is attempting in the current study on family interaction to determine if parents can change the way in which they interact with a problem child and thus modify the child’s behavior. This method would save many hours of treatment time.
He also helped develop a mobile laboratory at Oregon which can be taken to schools and homes to test children.
Reprinted with permission. Copyright 1969, The Register-Guard, www.registerguard.com.