Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Two Individual Monetary Incentive Systems On Work Productivity: Piece-Work Pay Versus Base Pay Plus Incentives, Kirk L. Gillette

Masters Theses

This study compared the effectiveness of a piece-rate pay system in which 100% of the subject's pay was incentive-based with a base pay plus incentive system in which approximately 30% of the subject's pay was incentive-based. Two experiments were conducted. In each experiment, six subjects were exposed to both pay systems using a within-subject reversal design. Subjects participated in 6 to 9 three-hour sessions (Experiment 1) or 9 to 14 four-hour sessions (Experiment 2). Simulated bank checks with differing cash values were presented on a computer screen, and subjects entered the cash values using the computer keyboard. The dependent variable …

Effects Of Music As A Conditioned Stimulus And Progressive Muscle Relaxation In Reducing Anxiety, Marie Elaine Clarkson

Masters Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether music could become a conditioned stimulus for lowered muscle tension and/or reduced anxiety.

There were three groups: (1) the PMR group receiving PMR alone, (2) the MUS group receiving music alone, and (3) the PMRM group receiving PMR followed by music. After four training sessions, a posttest was conducted in which all of the groups were given five minutes to relax. The PMR group had silence, the MUS group had music and the PMRM group had music which had previously been heard after relaxation training. Tension and anxiety reduction were …

Temporal Contiguity As A Defining Feature Of The Terms Reinforcer And Discriminative Stimulus: A Survey Of Journal Editorial Staffs, Julie Ann Fillhard

Masters Theses

Behavior analysis is a science that requires a consistent set of terms to describe independent and dependent variables and the relations between them. However, a review of literature indicates that behavior analysis is plagued by terminological inconsistencies, even with such basic terms as reinforcer and discriminative stimulus.

In the present study, 193 journal editorial staff members were surveyed to determine the importance of temporal contiguity in defining the terms reinforcer and discriminative stimulus. Eighty-seven editors (45%) responded to the survey which described two hypothetical scenarios and contained a series of questions relevant to each.

The results of the study indicate …

The Effects Of Daily And Weekly Supervisor Feedback On The Performance Of University Clerical Staff, Christopher Benjamin Turla

Masters Theses

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a feedback system developed to increase the productivity and job satisfaction of clerical staff in a university unit that admitted and audited students. Weekly and daily feedback were compared. Employees self-recorded the quantity and type of tasks completed throughout the study. In feedback condition 1, the supervisor delivered feedback once a week to two employees and everyday to three employees. In feedback condition 2, feedback frequencies were switched such that employees who first received weekly feedback received daily feedback, and employees who first received daily feedback received weekly feedback. Job satisfaction was measured before …

The Effects Of Goal Setting And Supervisory Feedback On Staff Performance In A Human Service Setting, Michael D. Mack

Masters Theses

Goal setting and supervisory feedback were examined to determine their relative effects on the performance of direct care staff. The performance of five staff from a day treatment program for developmentally disabled adults was measured. The specific performance measure of interest was staff implementation rates of daily training programs with clients. The results demonstrated that adding performance feedback to goal setting had minimal impact on staff performance. Yet, goal setting alone as an initial technique was effective in improving the performance of staff. Unfortunately, the long-term effects of goal setting alone may be less desirable than these initial data indicate. …

Nonidentity Matching Training As A Supplement To The Audio-Visual Combination Test, Melissa Wilson

Masters Theses

The Audio-Visual Combination Test is an assessment tool developed by Kerr, Meyerson, and Flora (1977), and used by those working with developmentally disabled persons to assess learning-to-learn skills. The test measures motor, visual, and auditory discrimination learning.

The experimenter attempted to determine if there were an important step-visual nonidentity discrimination-between AVC subtests 4 and 5/6 of the test. Twelve developmentally disabled adults were tested with three different sets of tasks interposed between a revised subtest 4 and 5/6. Results showed that most subjects had greater difficulty with the visual nonidentity discrimination than with the auditory/visual discrimination, subtest 5/6. The results …

The Effect Of A Conditioned Establishing Operations Procedure On Rats Responding On A Vi 30 Second Schedule For Sweetened Condensed Milk, Daniel James Knip

Masters Theses

Previous research on conditioned hunger paired food deprivation with a neutral stimulus. Amount of food eaten was typically the usual dependent variable, and the stimulus was visual, auditory or gustatory. The present study used rate of response as dependent variable, and paired an olfactory stimulus with food deprivation.

An experimental and control group each contained eight rats. Rate of bar pressing for sweetened condensed milk was the dependent measure. The experimental animals were then exposed to a vanilla scent during a period of extreme food deprivation. They were next allowed to bar press for liquid food under one hour of …

The Effects Of Quality Contingent Extrinsic Rewards On Intrinsic Motivation, Kimberly Ann Filler O'Connor

Masters Theses

Although many studies have shown that performance-contingent rewards increase performance quantity, few have examined whether quality contingent rewards increase quality. One objective of the present study was to determine whether quality contingent rewards would improve quality.

A second, independent objective was to determine whether extrinsic quality contingent rewards would decrease a person's intrinsic interest in and quality performance of a task following termination of those rewards. To date, no other studies have examined the effects of quality contingent rewards on intrinsic interest and quality performance.

The results indicated that quality performance-contingent rewards do improve quality. Quality contingent rewards increased quality …

The Effects Of Immediate Versus Delayed Feedback On Error Detection Accuracy In A Quality Control Simulation, Matthew A. Mason

Masters Theses

A computer simulation was developed to examine the effects of immediate versus delayed visual feedback on the accuracy of identifying specified aberrations in sample stimuli. In a self-paced computer tutorial, subjects learned to identify particular aberrations in a schematic diagram of a hard disk drive. During experimental sessions, subjects were exposed to a series of 200 samples presented four at a time sequentially on a computer screen, and were required to indicate with a computer mouse whether or not each sample drive contained an aberration. Accuracy of error detection was assessed under four experimental conditions: (1) self-paced, immediate feedback; (2) …

The Effects Of Mephenytoin On Schedule-Controlled Responding In The Pigeon, Victoria Mary Pellettiere

Masters Theses

Acute and chronic effects of mephenytoin (30 - 360 mg/kg) were examined in pigeons responding under a multiple fixed-ratio 50 fixed-interval 90-sec schedule of food delivery. The highest dose administered acutely (240 mg/kg) produced substantial reductions in rate of responding under both components of the multiple schedule; the effects of other doses were small and inconsistent. Tolerance appeared to develop to the rate-decreasing effects of mephenytoin following chronic exposure to the drag.

The Effects Of A Conditioned Establishing Operation On Performance Of A Two-Component Chain, Kenneth Lee Alling

Masters Theses

Subjects were exposed to a discrete-trial procedure in which reinforcement following the completion of a two-component response chain was dependent upon the presence or absence of the houselight. The procedure used closely resembles the hypothetical procedure suggested by Michael (1982) for developing control by a conditioned establishing operation. All subjects came to respond differentially in the presence and absence of the houselight. However, removal of the supposed conditioned reinforcer following completion of the first component of the response chain had little effect on control by the houselight, casting some doubt on Michael's (1982) theoretical analysis.

Effects Of Phenobarbital In Combination With Phenytoin Or Valproic Acid On The Delayed-Matching-To-Sample Performance Of Pigeons, Catherine Ann Karas

Masters Theses

The present study examined the effects of phenobarbital (S, 10,20, and 40 mg/kg), phenytoin (2.5, 5, 7.5, and 15 mg/kg), and valproic acid (40, 60, 80, and 120 mg/kg), and those of phenobarbital (10 and 20 mg/kg) in combination with phenytoin (2.5,5, and 7.5 mg/kg) or valproic acid (40, 60, and 80 mg/kg), on the delayed-matching-to-sample performance of pigeons. In general, high doses of each individual drug reduced accuracy. Drug combinations also reduced accuracy relative to control values. Reductions in accuracy produced by drug combinations were very similar in magnitude to those predicted by a response-addition model of drug interaction.

The Effects Of Public Posting On Job Performance With And Without Supervisory Participation, Jan Marie Miller

Masters Theses

The intervention was tested using a sequential presentation of conditions to assess the performance of clerical employees in a university admissions office. Ten workers received feedback on completion of mailroom tasks on a daily basis. Tasks included time of mail delivery and accuracy and quantity of responses to information requests. For mail delivery, two intervention elements were applied. First, group performance data were posted publicly. Second, verbal feedback from a supervisor was added to public posting. Improvement in time of mail delivery was observed when public posting was implemented; however, no reliable improvements were observed when supervisor feedback was added. …

Improving The Performance Of Corporate Instructional Designers, Karolyn A. Smalley

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the job aid developed by Brethower (1968) controlled instructional designers’ behavior so that they effectively and efficiently produced performance-based learning programs. This study consisted of developing and testing two iterations of the Analysis-Design Instructional Guide (job aid). Instructional designers who used either version of the job aid were able to meet a higher percentage of general criteria for performance-based learning programs than designers who did not. In addition, they took less time to develop programs than industry norms suggest. Even though the behavior of the designers was not completely …