Self-Help Skills Training: A Review of Operant Studies
This article reviews 36 studies conducted since 1967 which evaluated operant conditioning techniques to develop and improve self-help skills of mentally retarded persons. The studies fell within three categories: self-feeding and other mealtime behaviors, personal care skills (dressing, hygiene, etc.), and the simultaneous development of various self-help skills. Studies are analyzed in terms of the subjects, the target behaviors, training techniques and their effects, experimental designs, and reliability of measurement. The paper concludes with a critique of the studies, some suggestions for future research, and tentative teaching implications based on the results of the studies.