SELF‐MONITORING AND WORK PRODUCTIVITY WITH MENTALLY RETARDED ADULTS

Abstract

We examined the use of self‐monitoring to increase the productivity of five mentally retarded adults in a sheltered workshop. Data were collected daily during a 30‐minute intervention and 30‐minute generalization period. Following baseline, verbal praise, prompts, and physical encouragement were administered contingent on productive behavior on a specific task during the intervention period. In the next phase, self‐monitoring was trained during the intervention period. During both phases, baseline conditions prevailed in the generalization periods. In the final phase, self‐monitoring was extended across the intervention and generalization periods. Results showed that increased productivity levels, evident when praise and prompting were being administered, maintained with self‐monitoring alone. Minimal generalization across time was observed until self‐monitoring was begun in the generalization period.