Elery L. Phillips

An Analysis of a Selection Interview Training Package for Predeunquents At Achievement Place

chievement Place is a small, family-style behavior modification program for adolescents with behavior problems. The boys placed in Achievement Place by the Juvenile Court have typically had many problems in school. Although their academic performance usually improves as a result of the program, it seems unlikely that many of the boys will be furthering their formal educations once they have completed high school. This fact makes it probable that most of them will at least initially be competing in the unskilled job market to

Work environment in relation to employee job satisfaction in group homes for youths

Group home programs for youths were investigated in order to: (a) measure employment longevity in four occupational groups employed in group home treatment settings, (b) report current working conditions and job satisfaction levels, and (c) compare relationships between the group home work environment and employee job satisfaction. Subjects included 57 current and 51 former administrative/treatment employees from 26 participating group homes in Kansas. Several differences were found among four different occupational groups in employee longevity, work environment and satisfaction levels. Length of employment was longest for teaching-parents, followed respectively by houseparents, directors, and other employees. Eight significant work environment differences and five job satisfaction differences were reported among the four groups. Fourteen significant correlations were reported between work environment variables and job satisfaction ratings. A regression analysis reported significant predictors of two “overall” job satisfaction ratings. The research suggested that (1) group home employees have short tenures, (2) the different occupational groups have differing job satisfaction levels, (3) better working conditions are related to higher job satisfaction ratings, and (4) employee contact with the youths is related inversely to improvements in job satisfaction.

Free Operant Response Reinstatement during Extinction and Time-Contingent (DRO) Rewards

3 experiments are reported on the reinstatement of a bar-press response by rats during free operant extinction. After extended training on a VR schedule of food reward, an extinction procedure in which reward was negatively correlated with the bar-press response was initiated, i.e., reward was presented after 4 min of no bar presses. Results indicated that pause-contingent reward served to increase the rate of responding beyond what could be explained by the eliciting properties of reward-correlated stimuli or the “novelty” of stimulus change.

The reinstatement effect: Amount of noncontingent reward in the runway

The effects of a noncontingent feeding procedure following extinction of a runway response were investigated with 24 rats as Ss. Following acquisition and extinction training, four groups were formed and individually placed into the goal box and fed 0, 5, 10, or 20 food pellets on each of 4 days. The effects of this procedure were tested by again running the Ss to an empty goal box. Running speeds were reinstated for each of the fed groups and the speed of running varied with reward magnitude. These data were discussed in terms of incentive theory and Capaldi’s aftereffects hypothesis.