Training quality job interviews with adults with developmental disabilities.
A short BST loop from 1994 still teaches adults with developmental disabilities to give strong job-interview answers that generalize to new questions and interviewers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Pierce et al. (1994) worked with adults who have developmental disabilities. The team wanted to teach them how to answer common job-interview questions well.
Job coaches gave a short BST package: instructions, modeling, practice, and feedback. They used a multiple-baseline design across three question sets.
What they found
Every adult gave better answers after training. The gains spread to new questions and new interviewers. Employers rated the answers as good.
How this fits with other research
Radogna et al. (2024) extends this work. They added token rewards and showed the skills carried over to real Italian workplaces.
Callahan et al. (2022) also extends the idea into Zoom. They taught virtual meeting skills to adults with NDD using group BST online.
Laske et al. (2022) used remote video BST to teach public speaking. Like D et al., they saw full generalization to live audiences.
Why it matters
You can copy this brief package tomorrow. Pick three common questions, model a solid 20-second answer, let your client practice, and give instant feedback. No extra tokens or tech needed. The 1994 recipe still works for real job interviews.
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Join Free →Pick one common interview question, model a 20-second answer, and run three practice trials with feedback before lunch.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Supported work models of vocational integration have increased the employability of individuals with developmental disabilities. Interview questions most frequently used and corresponding responses considered most beneficial to job applicants were derived from an empirical analysis of the "hiring community" and served as a basis for the development of the verbal job interview skills training package evaluated in this research. Dependent measures were objective, behavioral indices of the quality of job interview responses. One-to-one training by a direct training staff, job coach, and a trained behavior analyst resulted in improved responding by all subjects as indicated in a multiple baseline design across interview questions. Improved quality in responding to questions generalized to variations in interview questions, to a novel interviewer, and in an in vivo interview situation. Finally, global measures of social validity support the value of the quality-of-response training.
Research in developmental disabilities, 1994 · doi:10.1016/0891-4222(94)90024-8