OBM Exam 2
Three target behaviors in Tittlebach et al. (2007)
1-Punctuality defined as the participant arriving for front desk hours between 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after the shift had begun 2-Client greeting was defined as addressing a client with a verbal greeting ("Hi" or "Hi, what can I do for you?") within 5 seconds of a client standing within 1.5 m distance of the desk 3-Correct front desk behavior and consisted of a. Sitting correctly and facing clients while behind the office desk (i.e., appropriately sitting in a designated chair, both feet flat on the floor, legs crossed with one foot touching the floor and the other resting on top of the leg that touches the floor, both feet resting on the cross legs of swivel chairs, or one foot resting on floor with the other resting on. One of the legs of the swivel chair).
What were the 4 components of the intervention package? Lebbon et al (2011)
1-hr employee training session on safe lifting with pivot transfer 1-hr supervisory training session in the use of the checklist to observe employees and in the delivery of effective verbal feedback Posting weekly graphic feedback Delivering daily verbal feedback by the supervisor
Nice major sources of helpful information and data when setting goals
1. The characteristics of performance (i.e., how people typically learn or change) 2. The performers past history (i.e., base goals on previous performance, these are likely to be attainable and are more likely to increase the chances of success). 3. The performance of others (i.e., using exemplary performers inside and outside of the organization that demonstrate attainable levels of performance, better to use performance of outside competition to not establish revenge as a positive reinforcer. 4. Existing industrially engineered standards (i.e., standards are useful in setting goals when used as reference points for measuring success) 5. Participation by the performers (i.e., at least asking performers for their input on what their goals should be may be reinforcing).
Stretch Goal
A goal higher than the final goal, low probability of meeting the goal
List and briefly describe the distinguishing characteristics of reinforcers
A reinforcer follows behavior - is a consequence Increases frequency of a behavior Reinforcers change Frequency affects its effectiveness
(Hirst & DiGennaro Reed, 2015) In Experiment 1, data were analyzed using area under the curve (AUC). Describe in 1 or 2 sentences why the authors conducted this analysis
AUC was used for data analysis to standardize rates of acquisition across participants and groups
(Hirst & DiGennaro Reed, 2015) What do the authors mean when they stated that a carryover effect was observed? Why might these carryover effects be potentially meaningful within organizational settings? Explain in 3 - 4 sentences
Carryover effects are when the effects of one phase continue to persist over applications of other phases, thus skewing the data
Why is clocking in early a problem for many businesses
Costly, raises labor costs and can lead to the use of more punitive control by an organization, which can result in reduced job satisfaction and increased stress
Goal Setting
Defining a specified, or preset level of performance
How were prompts used in the intervention phase in the study by Milligan & Hantula, 2006
In order to prompt the participant to prompt her customers, on the back of each index card either a prompt for a specific class of products, a non-specific prompt for a pet product, or a no prompt was written. All prompts were phrased as "Would you like to purchase a ____ ____ ____ or anything else today?" The cards were turned upside down and shuffled so they would only be visible to the participant and prompt conditions could be randomized. Role play was used to train participants to pick up the cards and deliver the prompt before intervention began.
Honeywell-Johnson & Dickinson (1999) List the four pay for performance systems
Individual incentives, Group incentives, Gainsharing, Profit Sharing
Thurkow (2000) List the 3 different pay systems used during the intervention phase
Individual monetary incentives Equally distributed group monetary incentives Competitive monetary incentives
Lebbon et al (2011) Describe the injury analysis that was conducted. What the injury analysis find?
Injury records from the two years prior were analyzed to identify behavior in need of improvement Results: Most frequent employee injuries results from patient lifting or transferring a patient from/to a surface, Injuries included: strains to the back, neck, shoulders and ankles
Johnson and Dickinson (2010) List the two ways in which participants were deceived in Experiment 1
Participants being told that winning the Check Processor of the Week was related to the performance of the individual team members, when in reality it was arranged so that the same fabricated participant won every time. From the participants' perspective, they were always performing well, although never well enough to outperform the fabricated first place winner. Told that they have 20 members in the group
Martinez-Onstott et al. (2016)Describe the results from the PDC-safety, and the intervention(s) used in the study
Results indicated that employees received no programmed consequences for engaging in safe versus unsafe practices - added feedback i. Intervention consisted of graphic feedback delivered by the experimenter and individual graphic feedback
Martinez-Onstott et al. (2016) Describe in 2-3 sentences why the authors used the PDC-Safety, rather than the PDC
The PDC-Safety was developed with the help of experts in the field to ensure that the information was strictly geared towards safety related problems and identify failure to adhere to personal protective equipment as a concern by the managers
What is the feedback sandwich?
The feedback sandwich involves delivering feedback in a particular sequence: a positive statement about specific behavior the individual performed well, a corrective statement about specific behavior the individual could change or improve, and an overall positive statement.
Lebbon et al (2011) List the reason why the authors suggest that practitioners avoid punitive statements or publicly delivered correct feedback when improving safety behaviors
This behavior could create a hostile work environment where employees feel management is not supportive and therefore, safety process is not worth their time or effort
(Hirst & DiGennaro Reed, 2015) Explain in 1 - 2 sentences the purpose of Experiment 2
To determine the generality of findings from experiment 1 by evaluating whether these results would also generalize to a different population, setting, and task
Define the term behavior-based safety
Use of ABA methods to achieve continuous improvement in safety performance
Free rider effect
When group rewards decrease the performance of top performers because they see their earnings reduced by less productive group members. Poor performers, on the other hand, continue to perform below average because they benefit from the labor of others.
How were group productivity and individual interviewer productivity?
_________Group productivity was defined as the average number of completions per hour that a group of employees, all working on the same survey project, had for a given shift. __________was the average number of completions per hour for a single interviewer for his/her shift.
List two arguments for and two arguments against use of feedback sandwich
a. Against i. Lacking empirical support ii. Obscures the message or devalues the corrective feedback because employees receive more positive feedback overall (and visa versa) b.For i. Makes corrective feedback more acceptable to the reciever. Reduces discomfort and anxiety for the recipient and deliverer
Johnson (2013) The experiment involved 4 conditions. List each of these conditions with a short description of what happened within each condition (1 or 2 sentences per condition is fine)
a. Combined evaluative and objective feedback: participants were read one of 40 evaluative statements about their previous session's performance, including objective details on performance b. Evaluative feedback alone: same as above but no objective details provided (i.e., "you correctly completed __ checks" was removed). c. Objective feedback alone: only objective statements were used, no evaluative i. No subtle body language (no smiling, frowning, nodding etc.) d. No feedback: No instructions or information about their performance were provided.
Four characteristics of extinction
a. Extinction burst b. Emotional behavior c. "habit breakdown" otherwise understood as behavioral variability d. Resurgence - return of a behavior that has undergone extinction, often when functionally equivalent reinforcement for alternative behavior is removed
(Johnson 2013) On page 91, Johnson lists a few reasons why providing objective feedback is essential. List and explain two of the reasons
a. It may more clearly specify the goals and contingencies in place and the employees performance in relation to those goals and contingencies. b. It may also notify the employee that ones actual performance is being closely monitored which may generate verbal statements that could operate as motivating operations, or discriminative stimuli that will evoke higher levels of desired workplace behavior.
(Henley, DiGennaro Reed, 2015) List 4 reasons why the authors did not deliver feedback about the rate of performance ?
a. It was important to remain consistent with definitions of the feedback sandwich found in the literature that state that feedback contain information about specific behaviors not quantity or rate of performance b. Participants may not perceive feedback about quantity or rate as positive or corrective c. Recent study documented that feedback regarding accuracy of performance resulted in increases in accuracy and speed, where feedback about speed resulted in a moderate increase in speed and decreases in accuracy d. Feedback on quality may result in improvements in quality and rate, which may be more ecologically valid given the importance of both measures to organizations
Martinez-Onstott et al. (2016) The authors list 5 limitations of the study. List all 5
a. Only one area was identified as problematic - only 1 type of intervention was examined b. Alternative interventions that addressed the lack of effective consequences would have been equally useful c. No specific score was assigned to determine if the area was actually problematic d. Nonconcurrent multiple baseline design - concurrent would have been stronger e. No follow-up data was collected f. Other interventions would have been equally effective but were not evaluated
(Hirst & DiGennaro Reed, 2015) What were the DVs what was the mastery criterion?
a. Participant responses to the task and latency in trails until the mastery criterion was met. b. The mastery criterion was set at 15 consecutive correct responses
List and describe the 5 steps typically involved with behavior-based safety
a. Pinpoint: Send all employees home after work in the same physical condition in which they arrived i. Identify safety results and safe behaviors b. Measure: Conduct observations c. Feedback: Graphic feedback d. Positive Reinforcement: Natural and social reinforcement e. Evaluate: go back to the results pinpoint to see if the goals were achieved
What are the 5 reasons why organizations should use positive reinforcement
a. Positive side effects i. Supervisors and employees will like each other more, improves morale and increases employee loyalty to the organization b. Most performance problems in organizations are motivational i. Can't do (to be addressed with training) vs. won't do (to be addressed with motivation) - that is, what reinforcement is available for doing something c. People seek positive reinforcers i. Positive reinforcement drives behavior to continue happening, and an environment/life rich in positive reinforcement is likely to produce employees that will continue working at steady rates, and will stay around. d. Positive reinforcement creates a positive climate for positive accountability i. Employees are more likely to treat management and other employees positively if they are in an environment that is rich in positive reinforcement, this can also lead to employees working harder than what is required of them, or expending discretionary effort, which is good for any organizations bottom line e. Finally, a commitment to using positive reinforcement is a values-based decision about how you and your organization treat people i. A workplace that uses negative reinforcement and punishment make life aversive for its employees, and on the other side, those that use positive reinforcement do the opposite.
10 characteristics of effective performance feedback
a. Specific b. Information is about behavior the person controls c. Immediately following performance if not during d. Individualized e. Self-monitored when possible f. If not self-monitored, delivered by the person in charge g. Focused on improvement h. Easily understood i. Graphed j. Used as an antecedent to reinforcement
Johnson 2013 In the discussion section Johnson lists a few ways in which the results can be potentially applied with organizational settings. List and describe two of these potential applications
a. Supervisors should make the effort to provide both objective and precise evaluation as this combination produced stronger gains than just general evaluation or objective feedback alone b. It may be that in person delivery of objective feedback may be more effective than computer delivery of the same feedback
Describe the TPSR (Total Performance Service Review System) Szabo et al., 2012
a. TPSR is a behavioral systems approach that promotes data based decision-making by front-line staff and managers by use of a direct service prompting method combined with organizational-level review. b. TPSR allows for managerial oversight of staff utilization of behavioral procedures at multiple hierarchical levels c. TPSR increases the probability of useful behavior change strategies being conducted across the different management levels of the organization.
Mace & Critchfield (2010) Pure basic research, Define Translational research
a. ______________ has the abstract mission to advance fundamental knowledge for its own sake, has been held in high regard at least since classical Greek times, and cannot be questioned on its own terms. _________________is an essential complement to pure basic behavioral research, because it explicitly considers the generality and everyday relevance of fundamental behavior principles.
Prompt
an antecedent verbal stimulus that sets the occasion for a particular behavior (Milligan & Hantula, 2006). They are also inexpensive, moderately effective way to change both employees and consumer behavior •Can be used to change a variety of work-related employee behaviors •Ease of administration - may be especially well suited for use in small businesses.
Miller, Carlson, & Sigurdsson (2014) List and describe in one or two sentence the functional assessments used to identify potential causes for the performance problem. Describe in 1 or 2 sentences the results from each
i. PDC - no supervisor was present, no updated/challenging goals, no consequences delivered for completion of DTT ii. PIC/NIC - Most probable consequence for incorrect prompt implementation and data recording was escape from the task itself, incorrect data or more intrusive prompts than necessary may have been used if a participant wanted to move the client through their goals more quickly. Staff to student ratio and workload prevented escape as a reward
6 TPSR Components
i. Performance cards ii. Public posting iii. Reinforcement iv. Training v. Clinical Consultation vi. Service review vii. Biweekly team meetings
Performance Feedback
information about performance that allows a person to change their behavior.
Task Clarification
is used to either remind employees of the current contingencies or explain a set of new contingencies for a specific behavior. It usually explains in detail how to reach those contingencies and is effective in various environments both alone and when combined with feedback.
( Ganster et al., 2011) List the four potential moderating variables that have been proposed that help explain inconsistent findings across field studies.
• Control (autonomy) • Performance Level • Financial Requirements • Job type
Johnson and Dickinson (2010) List the 4 reasons why EOM programs may not be effective
• The revolving nature of the award suppresses performance (i.e., one knows they can just wait their turn to get the award and there is no incentive to continue working hard after the award is received); • The award isn't valuable (i.e., just seeing one's name on a plaque or piece of paper isn't desired); • The award is valuable, but the performance expectations are unclear (i.e., the criteria are so vague that one does not know how to get the award); • The award is valuable, but the "winner-take-all" format doesn't encourage performance (i.e., the award is desirable, but one does not believe they can outperform all their fellow employees).
