Jeffrey H. Tiger, Gregory P. Hanley & Nicole A. Heal. (2006)
The effectiveness of and preschoolers’ preferences for variations
of multiple-schedule arrangements.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
39, 475-488.
Multiple schedules of reinforcement have been used to teach children
to recruit attention only when it is available, thereby minimizing
disruptive requesting during instructional activities. This procedure
involves alternating periods of continuous reinforcement (CRF) with
periods of extinction and correlating each period with a distinct and
continuous discriminative stimulus. The present study evaluated the
effectiveness of and children’s preferences for multiple schedules in
which (a) two different stimuli, one correlated with reinforcement (S+)
and another correlated with extinction (S-), were presented; (b) only an
S+ was presented (i.e., no stimulus was correlated with extinction), and
(c) neither an S+ nor an S- was presented (i.e., a mixed schedule). S+/S-
and S+ arrangements were similarly effective for 7 children, but 3 preferred
the S+/S- condition and 4 preferred the S+ condition. Correlational analyses
suggested that children who responded more effectively given the S-
(discrimination indexes were relatively high) preferred the S+/S- condition,
whereas children who responded less effectively given the S- preferred the S+
condition. The implications of these findings for arranging multiple schedules
for social responses are discussed.
DESCRIPTORS: concurrent-chains arrangement, multiple schedule, mixed schedule, preference assessment, preschoolers