Two experiments were conducted to determine whether an assessment of the discrimination skills of institutionalized mentally retarded clients provided information regarding subsequent prevocational performance. During Experiment 1, the two-choice discrimination skills of 20 mentally retarded clients were assessed with six diagnostic tasks. Following assessment, 12 clients were administered several criterion tasks to determine the accuracy of prediction of the assessment tasks on prevocational analogue tasks. During Experiment 2, nine clients were administered a prevocational sorting task, and the accuracy of prediction of the discrimination assessment was again evaluated. Results indicated that the results of assessment are useful in predicting performance across most of the analogue tasks and the prevocational sorting task.
Two theoretical points of view that have aided psychologists in making productive, practical contributions to the rehabilitation of the disabled are Lewinian Field Theory and Skinnerian Behavior Theory. That is a paradox because on superficial analysis, the two theories appear to conflict with each other.Lewinians are concerned with understanding the phenomenological complexities of a whole situation-a complex person interacting with a complex environment-or Life Space of the person. Behavior is a function of that Life Space because a person behaves in accordance with his perception of his situation. Perceptions, of course, include hopes, values, needs, and desires, which are just as "real" as any tangible variables. Lewinians, therefore, are highly concerned with what the person thinks, feels, and perceives his situation to be. Moreover, because behavior is purposeful and goal directed, the understanding and prediction of behavior requires close study of the dynamic relationships among the many personal and environmental variables that interact in a situation. The outcome of such study permits the Lewinian to "map the field" and to approach a major goal; namely, to understand the psychological situation of the client.The Skinnerian, on the other hand, is concerned with understanding the functional relationship between a single response, its antecedent stimulus, and a consequent reinforcer or punisher. A person may be viewed as a "black box," in which the behavior that comes out can be controlled by manipulating what
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