A methodological and philosophical critique of intervention-oriented research.

Intervention-oriented research programs typically yield differences between social classes in the task performance of children and the parent interaction style. It is then concluded that deficiencies in task performance are due to limitations in the family environment, and this pathology model yields the proposal to alter lower-class parental behavior. Questions concerning the methods and procedures for obtaining class differences, interpretation of these differences, and the decision to intervene are raised. The popularity and social relevance of intervention-oriented research dictate that such programs be critically evaluated. Programs in this area generally include some assessment of deficits in lower-class children and limitations in some aspect of the lower-class family environment, and a causal connection between the two is implied. The social and ethical considerations surrounding such programs, which have as their logical end point an intervention in individual lives, demand that there be careful examination of implicit value judgments, as well as research methodology.