The good productivity game: increasing work performance in a rehabilitation setting.
A five-minute team game with candy and early leave can double vocational productivity of adult workers in rehabilitation centers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lutzker et al. (1979) tested a team game called the Good Productivity Game. Four adult residents in a rehabilitation facility earned candy and early dismissal when their group hit a work target. The researchers used an ABAB reversal design to show the game, not something else, caused the change.
What they found
Work output doubled when the game was on. Staff kept running the game after the study ended because the jump was so clear.
How this fits with other research
Bowman et al. (2019) later used the same reversal-ABAB logic with 170 direct-care staff. A weekly lottery game lifted hand-washing in a large facility, proving the group-contingency model scales up from four residents to a whole workforce.
Silverman et al. (1994) swapped the target from work to leisure. Their interdependent group contingency plus public graph boosted free-time activity for most adults with TBI in a group home. The game frame works across very different responses.
Beahm et al. (2023) moved the tokens onto a phone app. Adults with developmental disabilities earned digital points for vocational tasks. Productivity rose, but staff called the tech 'labor-intensive.' The 1979 candy-and-dismissal version still wins on ease.
Why it matters
You can double vocational output tomorrow with a pocketful of candy and a group goal. No apps, no extra staff hours. Pick a fair team target, post the score where everyone sees it, and deliver the prize right after the shift. If you need to move more people, borrow Bowman’s weekly lottery twist. Keep the game short, keep the prize small, and watch the work climb.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Simple reinforcement systems have been used to improve performance in a broad range of settings. For example, in classrooms, the “Good Behavior Game” has been shown to be very effective (Barrish, Saunders, and Wolf, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 1969, 2 , 119–124). In industry, small bonuses were used to increase the punctuality of workers (Hermann, deMontes, Dominquez, Montes, and Hopkins, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 1973, 6 , 503–572). In a sheltered workshop setting, Shroeder ( Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 1972, 5 , 45–52) examined work rates under varying frequencies and amounts of reinforcement and response force. The present study involved the utilization of simple group contingencies to increase productivity in a rehabilitation industry. Four state hospital residents who were trainees at a rehabilitation industry participated in the study which examined the effects of feedback, and feedback plus the “Good Productivity Game” to improve work output. The task, for which the employees were paid a wage, involved sorting boards by size. When the employees were provided with feedback on the number of boards sorted during the observation period, productivity increased slightly over baseline. After a return to baseline, the “Good Productivity Game” was played. For performance, the game afforded the employees pseudo‐competition (in that teams were paired against each other, but both teams always “won”) and simple rewards such as candy and early work termination. The game improved performance by 104% over the second baseline and by 64% over the third baseline. Data gathered on rates of on‐task behavior by the employees correlate with the productivity rates. Data gathered on rates of staff attention paid to employees show little difference across conditions, thus corroborating the function of the “Good Productivity Game” in increasing work output. Although no formal data were collected, the staff continued to use the game with considerable success after the formal termination of the study. The “Good Productivity Game” appears useful in increasing work output in a rehabilitation setting. Further research should concentrate on the utility of the game throughout longer periods of the workday and over extended periods of time.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1979 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1979.12-488