Effects of error and errorless discrimination acquisition on reversal learning.

Researchers worked with 24 neurotypical kids .

They taught a simple color discrimination task.

Half the kids got errorless training. The other half learned by trial-and-error.

Then everyone had to reverse the rule. Red was now wrong and green was right.

The team counted how many errors each child made during the switch.

Kids who started with errorless training made far fewer mistakes during reversal.

Graded-choice prompting and clear verbal instructions both beat trial-and-error.

The trial-and-error group kept choosing the old correct color longer.

Errorless learners switched faster and with less frustration.

Barlow et al. (1973) showed the same graded-choice trick cuts errors to near zero.

Fantino (1968) proved it works even for kids with severe delays.

Foster et al. (1979) found a twist: once kids learn trial-and-error first, switching to errorless later still hurts learning.

Together these papers warn: start errorless from day one. Trial-and-error leaves a stubborn learning history.

When you teach a new skill, use errorless prompting from the first trial. Fade prompts slowly. Give clear verbal rules. This prevents bad habits that slow down later learning. If a child already has trial-and-error history, expect more errors and plan extra practice.