NCJ Number
49220
Date Published
1971
Length
76 pages
Annotation
AN ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEMS AT ACHIEVEMENT PLACE, A FAMILY-STYLE BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION PROGRAM FOR PREDELINQUENT BOYS, IS DESCRIBED.
Abstract
SEVERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR BOTH THE ASSIGNMENT OF WORK TASKS AND THE DESIGNATION OF CONSEQUENCES FOR WORK PERFORMANCE WERE COMPARED FOR THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AND PREFERENCE BY THE BOYS AND THEIR APPARENT EDUCATIONAL AND PRACTICAL VALUE. THE FOLLOWING VARIABLES WERE STUDIED: (1) INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR TASKS VERSUS GROUP RESPONSIBILITY; (2) INDIVIDUAL CONSEQUENCES FOR PERFORMANCE VERSUS GROUP RESPONSIBILITY; AND (3) A PEER MANAGERSHIP WHICH COULD BE EARNED BY A BOY OR DETERMINED DEMOCRATICALLY BY HIS PEERS. THE VARIABLES WERE INCORPORATED INTO A SERIES OF 12 EXPERIMENTS INVOLVING A COMMON MAINTENANCE TASK -- BATHROOM CLEANING. AN OBSERVER, USING A SET OF EXACTING CRITERIA, COLLECTED DATA FROM THE TWO BATHROOMS IN THE HOME EACH DAY. FOURTEEN BOYS SERVED AS SUBJECTS DURING THE 3-YEAR RESEARCH PERIOD, AND THE DATA WERE COLLECTED WHILE THE BOYS WERE AWAY AT SCHOOL SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT BECOME AWARE OF THEIR ROLE IN A BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH PROJECT. IT WAS FOUND THAT INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY WITH INDIVIDUAL REWARD OR PUNISHMENT WAS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN GROUP RESPONSIBILITY. INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY ON A ROTATING BASIS, WITH THE GROUP RECEIVING THE REWARDS OR PUNISHMENT, WAS LESS EFFECTIVE THAN THE INDIVIDUAL SITUATION, BUT MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE GROUP SITUATION. THE RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT AN ELECTED PEER MANAGER WHO HAD THE AUTHORITY TO ADMINISTER BOTH POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT AND PUNISHMENT TO HIS PEERS WAS THE BEST ALL AROUND GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM. A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND TABULAR AND GRAPHIC DATA ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)