Volume 57, Issue 3 pp. 725-741
Replication

Comparison of synchronous reinforcement and accumulated reinforcement for increasing on-task behavior in preschoolers

Sara C. Diaz de Villegas

Corresponding Author

Sara C. Diaz de Villegas

Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Correspondence

Sara C. Diaz de Villegas, Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.

Email: [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
Claudia L. Dozier

Claudia L. Dozier

Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Search for more papers by this author
Ky C. Kanaman

Ky C. Kanaman

Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Search for more papers by this author
Stacha C. Leslie

Stacha C. Leslie

Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Search for more papers by this author
Marissa E. Kamlowsky

Marissa E. Kamlowsky

Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 07 June 2024
Citations: 4

Editor-in-Chief: John Borrero

Handling Editor: Jeanne Donaldson

Abstract

In synchronous-reinforcement schedules, the duration of behavior directly controls the duration of reinforcement on a moment-to-moment basis. We replicated and extended Diaz de Villegas et al. (2020) by comparing the effects of synchronous reinforcement with two accumulated-reinforcement schedules for increasing on-task behavior for seven preschoolers. One accumulated schedule was the same as the one used in Diaz de Villegas et al. and did not include tokens, whereas the other accumulated schedule included the delivery of tokens within session. Furthermore, we assessed preference for the three reinforcement schedules. The results showed that synchronous reinforcement was effective for increasing on-task behavior for all seven participants. Furthermore, it was most effective for increasing on-task behavior for three out of seven participants and preferred by all participants. For some participants, other schedules were also similarly effective. The results are discussed with respect to implications for application.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose regarding the current manuscript.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Supporting Information includes additional data summarizing within-session analyses: specifically, within-session analyses of response-pausing duration and instances, background probability of pausing, conditional probability of pausing in the accumulated-token condition, and analysis of bouts of responding.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.