Self-monitoring and self-managed reinforcement procedures for improving work productivity of developmentally disabled workers. A review.
Self-monitoring and self-reinforcement give quick productivity lifts to workers with intellectual disability, but you will still need staff or tech cues to make the gains last.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Matson et al. (1989) looked at every paper that tried self-monitoring or self-reinforcement with developmentally disabled workers.
They wanted to know if letting workers track or reward their own work raised output.
The review covered vocational settings only and kept score on how solid the proof was.
What they found
Most studies showed a jump in productivity while the self-management plan was in place.
Yet the authors say the designs were weak and no study proved the gains lasted all day.
Bottom line: the tactic helps, but we cannot swear it will stick without staff help.
How this fits with other research
Schmitt (1986) and Steege et al. (1989) ran almost the same comparison in classrooms. They also saw that self-monitoring beats doing nothing, but they tested kids, not adults.
Chang et al. (2011) took the idea further by giving young adults a handheld accelerometer that buzzed when they stopped moving. Their tech twist kept two workers on task, showing the basic principle still works when you swap paper logs for gadgets.
Martin (1995) came next and turned the shaky 1989 evidence into a staff-friendly checklist. The manual mixes staff prompts with worker self-monitoring, a direct answer to the worry that gains fade once staff step back.
Why it matters
You can start using self-monitoring today, but treat it like a booster shot, not a vaccine. Pair it with brief staff check-ins or a simple buzzer cue. The 1995 manual gives you a ready-made routine, and the 2011 gadget shows even a vibrating prompt can keep the system alive. Until stronger day-long data arrive, plan on fading support slowly instead of handing the whole program to the worker at once.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This article reviews research that examined self-monitoring and/or self-managed reinforcement procedures for improving and maintaining work productivity of developmentally disabled workers. Seventeen articles were encountered that examined self-monitoring and/or self-administration of reinforcers for productivity. In total, 107 developmentally disabled persons experienced self-management procedures, with diagnoses varying from profoundly to mildly retarded. In most of the studies, work productivity improved during intervention conditions. However, in almost all cases, procedural limitations prevent us from confidently attributing improvements in productivity to the self-management components of the interventions. Moreover, because of practical limitations, we cannot yet offer self-management procedures as a viable strategy to maintain work rates of developmentally disabled workers at acceptable levels throughout typical working days. Additional research is needed that goes beyond the procedural and practical limitations of previous studies.
Behavior modification, 1989 · doi:10.1177/01454455890133003