Preparation for effective self-regulation: the development of generalized verbal control.

The team worked with preschoolers in a classroom and at home. They used correspondence training: kids first said what they would do, then did it, then got praise for matching their words and actions.

Over time the teachers made the gap between saying and doing longer. The goal was to see if the children could still follow their own plans when no adult was watching.

Correspondence training worked. The children kept doing the promised behavior even after delays grew.

The control spread to new tasks and places. Say-plan-do-praise created real self-management.

Clark et al. (1977) asked the same question earlier and found you can skip extra verbal drills. Just use say-plan-do-praise; it is enough.

Osnes et al. (1986) published the same year and showed the same package can pull shy preschoolers into peer talk. Same tool, new social target.

Iwata (1988) later saw mixed results and argued the child’s own words may not be the active piece. The clash is mostly about mechanism, not the package itself. The 1988 study kept the adult prompt; the 1986 study let the child’s plan lead the chain.

Hall (1992) moved the idea up to elementary boys with ADHD. Correspondence training still cut hyperactivity, so the reach goes beyond preschool.

You can build future self-management today. Have the child state a small goal at recess or during table work. Deliver praise only when action matches the words. Lengthen the delay bit by bit. In two weeks you may see carry-over to homework or home routines without extra rewards.