EFFECTS OF CHOSEN VERSUS ASSIGNED JOBS ON THE WORK PERFORMANCE OF PERSONS WITH SEVERE HANDICAPS

We evaluated the effects of several choice-related variables on the work performance of adults with severe handicaps. After assessing client work preferences, three choice-related situations were presented: (a) providing clients with the opportunity to choose a work task, (b) assigning a preferred task, and (c) assigning a nonpreferred task. Results indicated that clients attended to work tasks almost twice as much when they chose their tasks and when assigned to work on preferred tasks versus when assigned to work on nonpreferred tasks. Results are discussed regarding the need to assess systematically the effects of choice-related variables.     

ANALYZING ALERTNESS AMONG PEOPLE WITH PROFOUND MULTIPLE DISABILITIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR PROVISION OF TRAINING

We investigated whether variations in alertness among individuals with profound multiple disabilities affected subsequent responsiveness to training programs. Three experiments were conducted involving 5 people. In Experiment 1, results indicated that alertness of 3 individuals increased with provision of skill-acquisition training programs. Results also indicated no predictive relationship between alertness levels prior to training and subsequent responsiveness to training. Experiment 2 replicated results of Experiment 1 with 2 participants from Experiment 1 and an additional participant. Results of Experiment 2 also indicated that the increased alertness levels accompanying provision of training were not a function of the participants simply being in an inactive environment prior to training. Results of Experiment 3 indicated that alertness of an additional participant increased through provision of another training intervention, involving a systematic preference assessment. Responses during the preference assessment appeared to be unrelated to previously existing alertness levels. These findings suggest the need for caution when considering the withholding of scheduled training because an individual appears to be nonalert.     

EFFECTS OF A VOICE OUTPUT COMMUNICATION AID ON INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SUPPORT PERSONNEL AND AN INDIVIDUAL WITH MULTIPLE DISABILITIES

We evaluated a means of increasing staff members' interactions with an individual with multiple disabilities through use of a voice output communication aid (VOCA). When activated, the VOCA allowed the individual to communicate through synthesized speech. Results indicated that staff members interacted with the individual more frequently when she had access to the VOCA, suggesting that VOCAs may represent an alternative to more traditional staff management programs for increasing interactions.     

Judgments and definitions of sexual harassment by high school students

This study considers how high school students perceive incidents of possible sexual harassment toward students and how they define sexual harassment. Thirty-five male and 38 female high school seniors (44% Asian-American; 40% white, non-Hispanic; 6% Indian-American; 4% African-American; 3% Hispanic; and 3% other ethnic groups) evaluated scenarios that varied the type of sexual harassment, the status of the initiator (either teacher or student), and the gender composition of the dyad (either male toward female or female toward male). As predicted, type of harassment influenced ratings of severity. Compared to male respondents, female respondents rated the scenarios as more severe. Teachers were judged more critically than students. Differences in status were more apparent at less severe levels of harassment. In defining harassment, students relied on four factors: the behavior itself, the target's reaction to the behavior, the perpetrator's intentions, and the relationship that existed between the two people. Overall, the findings underline the importance of examining high schools as a locale for harassment.This study was originally conducted by the first author as a Westinghouse Science project at Stuyvesant High School, with the guidance of the second and third authors.     

The moderating influence of variability on belief revision

The variability of the information on which a belief was initially based should moderate the degree to which the belief is revised when new disconfirming information is received. Reasoning from everyday intuitions, psychological theories of concept representation, and a rational mathematical analysis, we inferred that as variability increased, resistance to disconfirming information would also increase. Participants’ judgments of the central tendencies of distributions of numerical information confirmed this prediction.     

TEACHING FOSTER GRANDPARENTS TO TRAIN SEVERELY HANDICAPPED PERSONS

Five foster grandparents were taught training skills for use in their daily interactions with severely handicapped persons in an institution. Following baseline, specific teaching procedures consisting of teacher instructions, prompts, modelling, and praise were implemented. The grandparents' frequency of training three skill areas increased as the specific teaching was implemented in multiple-baseline format. The total amount of training continued as teacher instructions, prompts, and modelling were terminated and praise continued, although the grandparents spent their training time emphasizing only two of the three skill areas. Teacher presence was gradually reduced over an 11-week period, with no decrease in grandparents' frequency of training. Four of the foster grandchildren, all profoundly retarded and multiply handicapped, demonstrated progress throughout the study. Results were discussed in light of the available contributions of foster grandparents in institutional settings and maintenance of staff training.     

A COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF REINFORCER IDENTIFICATION PROCESSES FOR PERSONS WITH PROFOUND MULTIPLE HANDICAPS

We evaluated comprehensively a preference assessment for identifying reinforcers for persons with profound multiple handicaps. Four experiments were conducted involving 18 individuals. Results of Experiment 1 replicated previous findings in that the assessment identified student preferences for respective stimuli, and caregiver opinion of preferences did not coincide with the systematic assessment. Results of Experiment 2 indicated highly preferred stimuli were likely to function as reinforcers in training programs, whereas stimuli not highly preferred did not function as reinforcers. Results of Experiment 3 suggested the 12 stimuli used in the assessment represented a comprehensive stimulus set for identifying preferences, although the utility of the set sometimes could be enhanced by caregiver opinion. Results of Experiment 4 indicated the assessment identified preferences likely to be maintained over time. Overall, results are discussed in terms of identifying limits and alternatives to a behavioral teaching technology when applied to persons with profound multiple handicaps.     

A comparative evaluation of parent-training interventions for families of chronic delinquents

Fifty-five families of chronically offending delinquents were randomly assigned to parent-training treatment or to service traditionally provided by the juvenile court and community. The families in the parent-training group received an average of 44.8 hours of professional contact (23.3 hours of which were phone contacts), and each control group family received treatment estimated at more than 50 hours on the average. Comparisons of police contact data at baseline and subsequent years for the two groups showed that subjects in both groups demonstrated reduced rates of offending during the followup years. The finding most relevant was significant treatment-by-time effect for offense rates, with most of this effect accounted for by a greater reduction in serious crimes for the experimental group during the treatment year, and a similar reduction of the community control group occurring in the first of three followup years. These early decrements in offense rates persisted during followup for both groups. Throughout the study, boys in the experimental group spent significantly less time in institutional settings than did boys in the control group. Parent training had a significant impact, but the reduction in offending was produced at very high emotional cost to staff. Although it is clear that this population requires substantial treatment resources, this study underscores the need for more work on prevention.Research for this paper was supported by grant MH 37938 from the Center for Studies of Antisocial and Violent Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). The writing was supported in part by grants MH 17126 and MH 37940 from the same Center, grant DA 05304 from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, U.S. PHS., and grant MH 38730 from the Child and Adolescent Disorders Research Branch, NIMH, U.S. PHS. The authors gratefully acknowledge the enduring commitment of the treatment staff that made this study possible: Patricia Chamberlain, Marion Forgatch, and Kate Kavanagh.