Evaluating the effects of reactivity to supervisor presence on staff response to tactile prompts and self‐monitoring in a group home setting

Because staff management research in group home settings typically involves direct observation of staff performance, reactivity to being observed is a potential limitation in these studies. The current study evaluated the use of a tactile prompt, self‐monitoring, and feedback to increase positive interaction in a group home setting. Reactivity was assessed by having a confederate observe staff positive interaction when the supervisor was present and when the supervisor was absent. The effect of supervisor presence was evaluated using an alternating treatment within a multiple baseline across participants' research design. Results showed that two of four participants increased positive interactions only when a supervisor was present and the two other participants increased positive interaction only when a supervisor was present and provided feedback. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.