April S. Worsdell, Brian A. Iwata, Claudia L. Dozier, Adrienne D. Johnson,
Pamela L. Neidert, & Jessica L. Thomason
(2005).
Analysis of response repetition as an error-correction strategy during sight-word reading.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
38, 511-527.
A great deal is known about the effects of positive reinforcement
on response acquisition; by contrast, much less research has been
conducted on contingencies applied to errors. We examined the
effects of response repetition as an error-correction procedure on the
sight-word reading performance of 11 adults with developmental
disabilities. Study 1 compared single-response (SR) repetition
and multiple-response (MR) repetition, and results showed that
all 6 participants acquired more sight words with the MR procedure.
Study 2 compared MR error correction following every incorrect
response (continuous) and following one third of incorrect
responses (intermittent), and results showed that all 6 participants
acquired more sight words when error correction was continuous.
Study 3 compared MR error correction in which errors required
practice of the training word (relevant) versus a different word
(irrelevant), and results showed that 3 of 9 participants showed
better performance under the relevant condition; however,
all participants showed improvement even under the irrelevant
condition. Findings are discussed in terms of the behavioral
processes by which error correction may enhance performance
during acquisition.
DESCRIPTORS: sight-word reading, error correction, negative reinforcement, stimulus control