Some logical functions of joint control.
Kids can remember and match accurately after 30 seconds without saying or doing anything obvious.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The researcher asked preschool kids to play a memory game. A picture appeared on a screen for a few seconds. After a 15- or 30-second wait, the child picked the matching card from four choices.
No one told the kids to talk out loud or point during the wait. The study simply watched if they could still pick correctly without any taught tricks.
What they found
The children got most trials right even after half a minute. Very few said or did anything obvious while they waited.
Accurate matching happened without visible rehearsal, hinting that covert control can guide delayed choices.
How this fits with other research
Hansen et al. (1989) earlier showed that when you teach kids unique actions for each sample, they remember better. Assumpcão Júnior (1998) now shows kids can remember without those trained actions. Together, the papers mark a shift: mediation helps, but it does not have to be overt.
Snapper et al. (1969) found rats that nibbled during a wait timed their responses better. Assumpcão Júnior (1998) extends this idea to children: simple collateral behavior may quietly guide choices without us noticing.
Repp et al. (1992) linked longer pauses to self-controlled choices. Assumpcão Júnior (1998) adds that such pauses, or lack of them, do not always predict accuracy—kids succeeded with or without visible mediating acts.
Why it matters
If kids can keep information in mind without chanting or pointing, you can skip forcing overt self-talk in early matching lessons. Focus on clear samples and quick feedback first. Add mediation later only if errors rise. This keeps instruction lean and respects the learner's natural shortcuts.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Try a 20-second delayed matching trial without prompting rehearsal—just watch if the learner still picks correctly.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Research on joint control has focused on mediational responses, in which simultaneous stimulus control from two sources leads to the emission of a single response, such as choosing a comparison stimulus in delayed matching-to-sample. Most recent studies of joint control examined the role of verbal mediators (i.e., rehearsal) in evoking accurate performance. They suggest that mediation is a necessity for accurate delayed matching-to-sample responding. We designed an experiment to establish covert rehearsal responses in young children. Before participants were taught such responses; however, we observed that they responded accurately at delays of 15 and 30 s without overt rehearsal. These findings suggest that in some cases, rehearsal is not necessary for accurate responding in such tasks.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1998 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1998.69-327