UC Riverside

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

The Use of Metamotivational Vocational Interventions on Task Engagement and Productivity

by

Anneta MingXiu Hsu Phillips

Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Education

University of California, Riverside, June, 2011

Dr. Sharon A. Duffy, Chairperson

The improvement of work behaviors among people with ID is frequently identified as a critical variable to achieving community integration. Individuals with ID exhibit various vocational skill deficits that impact their employment opportunities. The current study examined the effectiveness of three (music alone, music interspersed with auditory prompts, and auditory prompts alone) metamotivational vocational interventions to improve work productivity and task engagement levels in individuals with ID. A randomized alternating treatments design with maintenance and generalization phases was used. During the intervention period participants received each of the three randomly assigned interventions each day for a total of 18 sessions over 6 days. Participants, ages 35 to 61, were included in the study if they had a diagnosis of moderate or severe intellectual disability, evidenced poor task engagement and work productivity, and had the ability to interact without a pattern of persistent or chronic behavior issues. Four of the nine participants improved their productivity and task engagement levels with at least one of the treatments. Although the results did not provide strong support for the prediction that the combination of classical music and auditory prompts would be the most effective strategy for all participants, the results do suggest that low cost, low tech MP3 players can have a positive impact on task engagement and work productivity for adults with intellectual disability.