Effects of response independent delivery of preferred items and the high‐probability instructional sequence on compliance

Researchers worked with three typically developing preschoolers in a classroom. They compared three ways to get kids to follow a tough instruction.

One way was the high-probability sequence: give three fun, easy requests first, then the hard one. Another way was handing out a favorite toy for free right before the hard request. The third way was normal teaching with no extras.

Neither the high-p sequence nor the free toy helped. Kids obeyed the hard instruction only when they had to work for the reward. Without that contingency, compliance stayed flat.

Yuwiler et al. (1992) saw big compliance jumps with the same high-p sequence, but their kids had behavior disorders. The difference shows the sequence may only help when compliance is already low.

Waldron et al. (2023) later got strong results with autistic preschoolers. They added reinforcement for finishing the task, matching the 2017 finding that contingency matters.

Lipschultz et al. (2018) ran a follow-up and again saw no gain, confirming the pattern: high-p alone is weak for typical kids.

Save your prep time. With typically developing kids, skip the three easy requests and the freebies. Go straight to clear instructions and deliver the reinforcer only after they comply. That keeps the contingency intact and actually works.