Additional techniques for producing multiple-schedule control in children.
Pick mult FR EXT or mult DRO FR to build stimulus control in young kids; add a primer if you must use mult FI FR.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Long (1962) tested four kinds of multiple schedules with young children. The kids were 4-7 years old and had no known disabilities. Each child sat at a table with a lever and a light. The light color told which schedule was active. The team tried mult FR EXT, mult DRO FR, mult DRL FR, and mult FI FR. They wanted to see which setup gave the clearest stimulus control.
What they found
All four schedules worked. The children quickly learned to match their pressing to the color in front of them. Mult FR EXT, mult DRO FR, and mult DRL FR gave the cleanest control. Mult FI FR needed extra tricks, like priming the first response, before the kids showed the same sharp pattern. Once those tweaks were added, even the FI schedule locked in.
How this fits with other research
Fisher et al. (2020) took the same mult-schedule idea and used it to stop problem behavior from coming back. They added a clear S-delta cue during extinction probes and saw less resurgence. The 1962 lab work gave them the tool; Fisher showed it works in real clinics.
Briggs et al. (2017) and Torres‐Viso et al. (2018) both thinned FCT with mult schedules. Kids kept asking nicely while reinforcement grew lean. Again, the 1962 paper supplied the blueprint for mixing rich and lean components.
Borgen et al. (2017) looks different on the surface—high-p/low-p sequences instead of mult schedules—but the goal is the same: get stimulus control in preschoolers. Both studies show you can run simple, fast protocols to make cues matter.
Why it matters
You now have a menu. Start with mult FR EXT or mult DRO FR when you need tight stimulus control fast. Use mult DRO FR first if the child starts out at high rates or tries to escape. Save mult FI FR for later, and always prime the first response. These 1962 moves still beat newer, fancier plans for speed and clarity.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The subjects in these experiments were 132 children, varying in age from 4 to 7 years. These experiments were designed to assess the efficacy of various multiple scheduling procedures in producing reliable stimulus control. The schedules studied were multiple fixed-ratio-extinction (mult FR EXT); multiple differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior-fixed-ratio (mult DRO FR); multiple differential-reinforcement-for-low-rate-fixed-ratio (mult DRL FR); and multiple fixed-interval-fixed-ratio (mult FI FR). In addition other techniques were investigated, such as presenting FR's in blocks; increasing the size of the FR's; attaching a DRL to the FI members; temporarily shifting to new schedules; and adding an external clock to the FI's. These experiments yielded the following results.1.) Strong stimulus control was produced by mult FR EXT, mult DRO FR, and mult DRL FR schedules. Control for mult FR EXT was mediated principally by the individual stimuli, though on occasion it was dependent in part on the change of stimuli. The mult DRO FR was found to be highly useful for those children who had very high initial rates or who were generally uncooperative and unmanageable.2.) Contrary to a previous finding, some subjects were brought under stimulus control by means of mult FI FR schedules without the aid of additional procedures. Most, however, were not. Additional techniques found to augment the development of mult FI FR control included: (1) presenting FR's in blocks; (2) increasing the size of the FR's; (3) attaching a DRL to the FI component for a time and later removing it; and (4) shifting to a mult DRL FR, developing control, and then returning to the original mult FI FR.3.) Addition of an external clock to the FI components of the mult FI FR had several effects. Strongest control, including well-developed acceleratory patterns during the FI's, was developed in those subjects who had first been shifted from a regular mult FI FR to a mult FR EXT, brought under control, and then returned to the mult FI FR with the clock added. The added clock also produced strong control if it was present when the subject was first begun on a mult FI FR schedule. In some cases, the addition of the clock produced control in subjects who had not been controlled previously by the regular mult FI FR, but these were always subjects who had high rates. The addition of the clock first lowered the rate, then produced control.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1962 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1962.5-443