THE EFFECTS OF FEEDBACK MECHANISM ALTERATIONS AND SOCIAL REINFORCEMENT SEEKING ON THE REACTIVITY OF SELF-MONITORING (MENTAL RETARDATION, BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION)

The effects of alterations in feedback mechanism (permanent vs. temporary charts) and frequency of external social reinforcement seeking on the reactivity of subjects to self-monitoring procedures was investigated. Eleven severely impaired mentally retarded subjects were divided into two groups. The subjects acquired and benefited, both individually and collectively, from the self-monitoring procedures. A multiple probe variation of a partially counterbalanced multiple baseline across subjects design was used. The dependent measures used were daily experimental production level, frequency of social reinforcement seeking and mean production per five minute interval in a generalization setting. The design consisted of five experimental phases: (a) baseline (customary vocational workshop feedback); (b) reversal; (c) self-monitoring I (temporary visual production feedback); (d) self-monitoring II (permanent feedback chart); (e) generalization (voluntary initiation of self-monitoring in a new setting). The results supported three of four hypotheses. First, self-monitoring procedures maintained the production level of severely impaired mentally retarded subjects at levels near those established by external monitoring while allowing a substantial reduction in staff involvement. Second, the frequency of social reinforcement seeking substantially increased with the provision of a permanent feedback chart of the subject\u27s possession. However, the frequency of social reinforcement seeking was only equivocally related to increasing the production level of the subjects in a setting where sufficient and consistent external feedback was available. Finally, the use of self-monitoring as a generalization mediating device was supported. Those subjects showing the highest frequency of social reinforcement seeking also tended to more quickly voluntarily initiate self-monitoring in a generalization environment and also increased their level and trend of production. The results of this study support a cuing theory of self-monitoring toward the long term reinforcements available in the general environment. Further research into the behavioral sub-skills and procedural variations of self-monitoring will serve to improve the overall design, implementation, and consistency of self-monitoring procedures in applied settings