Variations of the Dependent Group Contingency and Effects on Employee Performance

Abstract

ABSTRACT Dependent group contingencies have been applied across several segments of the population to address various acquisition and performance problems, but little research has been conducted to better understand how employee performance may be sensitive to different preparations of the dependent group contingency. The current study evaluated the effects of two variations of a dependent group contingency on weekly graph completion by direct care staff. One variation consisted of the designated direct care staff being identified and the other consisted of the designated direct care staff remaining anonymous. The results showed that both variations were effective at increasing direct care staff’s graph completion relative to baseline and that the anonymous variation resulted in direct care staff completing the highest percentage of work.