Jason M. Hirst

Empirically Supported Staff Selection, Training, and Management Strategies

Consumers’ rights to effective behavioral treatment cannot be protected if treatment is poorly implemented or if well-qualified staff are not adequately trained. Effective delivery of high-quality services to individuals with disabilities depends, in part, on a well-trained workforce of educators, paraprofessionals, clinicians, and other staff. A critical feature of evidence-based practice is full implementation of empirically validated interventions. As a result, preparing staff to interact with and support consumers is a worthwhile expenditure of resources for service-delivery organizations. The purpose of this chapter is to describe research-based strategies for selecting and interviewing staff, developing and evaluating staff training programs, and implementing effective staff management and follow-up techniques. The chapter concludes with a discussion of staff training and support during crisis management.

Effects of Mands on Instructional Control: A Laboratory Simulation

The effects of two types of mands on participants’ adherence to instructions were examined across two groups using procedures based on Hackenberg and Joker (Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 62:367–383, 1994). Participants were presented with instructions describing a pattern of responding for producing points later exchanged for money and were exposed to choice trials in which a progressive-time (PT) and a fixed-time (FT) schedule were concurrently available. The instructions initially described how to optimize point production; however, the PT schedule was manipulated over the course of the experiment such that response patterns maximizing point production differed across conditions. All participants experienced the same experimental arrangement, and the two groups differed only in the form of the mand contained in the instructions presented to them. The instructions for the directive group contained the mand “you must…” (i.e., command) preceding the instructed response pattern, whereas the non-directive group instructions contained the mand “you might consider…” (i.e., suggestion) preceding the instructed response pattern. Results indicated that instruction type influenced response patterns across changing contingencies. The directive group exhibited greater adherence to the instruction than the non-directive group when instruction following was less profitable. Results are interpreted in terms of Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior, and implications for practical application are discussed.

Watts Up? Pro AC Power Meter for Automated Energy Recording: A Product Review

The purpose of the present paper is to review the Watts up? Pro AC power meter. Evaluations of the meter’s reliability for measuring energy consumption by consumer electronics yielded acceptable levels of reliability. Implications and limitations for the use of this product in behavior analytic research and practice are discussed.

Function-Altering Effects of Rule Phrasing in the Modulation of Instructional Control.

This study evaluated the effects of four instructional variants on instruction following under changing reinforcement schedules using an operant task based on Hackenberg and Joker’s Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 62, 367–383 (1994) experimental preparation. Sixteen college-aged adults served as participants and were randomly assigned to one of four instruction conditions (directive, generic, non-directive, and control). Results suggest textual verbal behavior modulated instruction following. Specifically, directive and generic instructions produced greater levels of instructional control and relatively lower levels of schedule control compared to non-directive instructions. Thus, participants in the directive and generic groups responded in accordance with the instructions even when schedules of reinforcement favored deviation from the instructed pattern. In contrast, participants in the non-directive group responded toward the optimal pattern. In the control condition, participant responding was variable but toward the optimal pattern. Findings are interpreted within the framework of Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior and formulation of rule governance.

Erratum to: Effects of mands on instructional control: A laboratory simulation

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s40616-014-0015-x.].

Basic Research Considerations for Performance Management of Staff

Performance management involves the application of behavioral principles to manage and change employee behavior so that desired organizational results may be accomplished. With the exception of research on incentive systems and feedback, a vast majority of performance management research takes place in the applied setting. Thus, this chapter provides an overview of select basic and translational research on topics relevant to the performance management of staff in service delivery settings. Topics include rules and instructions, motivating staff, and performance feedback. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the benefits of translational or use-inspired basic research about performance management.

Making It Easier To Be Green: A Single Case Demonstration of the Effects of Computer Defaults To Conserve Energy in a University Computer Lab

This is the publishers version, also available electronically from http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/SUS.2013.9827