SUPERVISING PARAPROFESSIONAL TUTORS IN A REMEDIAL READING PROGRAM1

Applied researchers increasingly report the use of paraprofessionals to implement key program components. However, despite such apparent advantages as increased availability and lower salaries, problems in maintaining acceptable levels of on-the-job performance in these workers have been reported. This study assessed the effects of a supervisory package on the work behavior of five paraprofessional tutors in a remedial reading program. The package consisted of written handouts and instructions, tests of tutor understanding, a video tape, mention of tutor performance by supervisors, and publicly posted feedback on work performance. One randomly chosen tutor received feedback each day on (1) his degree of completeness in tutoring one student's answers to comprehension-check questions, (2) his accuracy in tabulating that student's data sheet, and (3) his promptness in beginning the first student's tutorial session. The supervisory package produced marked improvement in completeness, some improvement in accuracy, but no improvement in promptness. Application of the supervisory package seemed practical, as an average of nine daily tutorial sessions (approximately 270 min of tutoring) required a total daily average of only 28 min of supervision. It was concluded that completeness performance by nondegreed, paraprofessional tutors was closely related to the extent to which they were supervised. Despite the fact that no improvement was observed in tutor promptness, and only partial improvement was observed in tutor accuracy, the improvement to near-perfect levels in tutor completeness suggests that further research is warranted to develop supervisory packages that might ensure the reliable and efficient use of paraprofessional workers.     

The law of effect and avoidance: a quantitative relationship between response rate and shock-frequency reduction

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the quantitative relationship between response rate and reinforcement frequency in single and multiple variable-interval avoidance schedules. Responses cancelled delivery of shocks that were scheduled by variable-interval schedules. When shock-frequency reduction was taken as the measure of reinforcement, the relationship between response rate and reinforcement frequency on single variable-interval avoidance schedules was accurately described by Herrnstein's (1970) equation for responding on single variable-interval schedules of positive reinforcement. On multiple variable-interval avoidance schedules with brief components, asymptotic relative response rate matched relative shock-frequency reduction. The results suggest that many interactions between response rates and shock-frequency reduction in avoidance can be understood within the framework of the generalized matching relation, as applied by Herrnstein (1970) to positive reinforcement.     

Attitude attribution when behavior is constrained

Five experiments were conducted in which subjects were asked to attribute attitudes to target persons on the basis of opinion statements written under high constraints, i.e., the target persons were instructed to prepare the statements but were given no choice concerning the position to be endorsed. In previous studies it had been observed that reader-subjects tended to attribute attitudes in line with the opinion statement even when the writer obviously had no choice. However, in these earlier studies the opinion endorsements were actually standardized statements prepared by the investigators and they may have contained subtle cues indicating attitude strength. In the present experiments the statements were those actually written by other subjects in response to no choice instructions. Even though the subjects as attributors were well aware of these instructions, and had complied to the same instructions as target persons, attitudes in line with expressed opinions were attributed. In the final experiment, constraints were strengthened even further by the provision of specific arguments that had to be included in the opinion statements. Here the “over attribution effect” finally fell below significance. With the exception of such extreme variants of constraint, the results provide further evidence that people tend to make dispositional attributions to “explain” behavior, underestimating the role of environmental constraints.     

Key pecking as a function of response-shock and shock-shock intervals in unsignalled avoidance

Five pigeons were exposed to an unsignalled avoidance procedure where key pecks were maintained through shock postponement. Functions obtained showed an inverse relationship between rate of responding and length of the response-shock interval, while changes in the shock-shock interval had no systematic effect on response rates. The rate of shocks delivered generally decreased with increases in length of both response-shock and shock-shock intervals. Results show that key pecking in pigeons, maintained through an unsignalled avoidance procedure, was affected by changes in response-shock and shock-shock intervals in the same manner as other responses in pigeons and in rats.     

Effects of Job Redesign: A Field Experiment1

A telephone company project to redesign the job of directory assistance operator was: studied in order to determine the effects on workers of “job enrichment” programs. The change increased the amount of variety and the decisionmaking autonomy in the operator's job. However, no change in work motivation, job involvement, or growth need satisfaction occurred as a result of the changes; instead, the changes had a significant negative impact on interpersonal relationships. After the changes, the older employees reported less satisfaction with the quality of their interpersonal relationships, and those supervisors whose jobs were affected by the changes reported less job security and reduced interpersonal satisfaction. Implications of these findings for the theory of job redesign proposed by Hackman and Lawler (1971) are discussed.     

Intelligence and school phobia

Although the notion is widespread that school phobics are generally brighter than average, data to support this notion have never been collected systematically. Evidence from this study suggests that if the sample size is large and if economic barriers to treatment are not present, one finds that intelligence is distributed among school phobics as it is distributed in the general population. Implications for practice and research are discussed.