Self-management programmes with mentally retarded workers: implications for developing independent vocational behaviour.
Three research studies were conducted to investigate the differential effects of externally administered, self-administered and self-determined reinforcement contingencies on the work production rates of developmentally disabled workers. The results of Expt. I indicated that Client 1, a profoundly retarded male, would work at equivalent rates under externally administered or self-administered reinforcers. Experiment II indicated that a severely retarded male would also work at a high work rate under a self-determined reinforcement contingency. The results of Expt. III replicated these findings in a more controlled design. Different tasks adapted from community workshops were utilized in each study. The implications of these studies for developing independent vocational behaviour in the retarded were discussed.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making; D004526:Efficiency; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D010358:Patient Participation; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012056:Reinforcement, Social; D012057:Reinforcement, Verbal