Acceptability of behavioral staff management techniques

This study describes an extension of Kazdin's work on acceptability of behavior therapy methods to the assessment of acceptability in the developing field of behavioral staff management. An instrument for assessing acceptability of behavioral staff management techniques was developed and then used to assess staff evaluations of four techniques that have been researched in the staff management literature (instruction, reinforcement, punishment, self‐management). The effects on acceptability of problem difficulty and duration of supervisor‐staff interaction were also investigated. Staff identified the techniques as having differing degrees of acceptability, with instruction rated most acceptable, followed in order by self‐management, reinforcement, and punishment. Ancillary studies supported the reliability and validity of the scale. Results are placed within the context of a recent behavioral supervision model, and discussed in terms of social validity and consumer satisfaction issues. Implications for delivering behavioral staff management interventions are presented. Copyright © 1989 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd