Reduction of severe behavior problems in the community using a multicomponent treatment approach.

The team worked with people who have developmental delays. All showed loud, scary behavior in grocery stores.

They blended five tools: choice making, task embedding, FCT, waiting practice, and clear cues for good behavior. Sessions happened during real shopping trips.

Problem behavior almost vanished. Shoppers finished more items and stayed calm for longer stretches.

Store staff and cashiers later said the trips looked normal and felt safe.

Nevill et al. (2019) later moved the same mix into family homes. Parents, not store clerks, ran the plan and still saw big drops in severe behavior.

Corr et al. (2025) pooled six big reviews and found FCT keeps cutting classroom problem behavior decades later. Their mega-review counts this 1993 market test as an early brick in the wall.

Dougherty et al. (1994) showed that when one hit gets you two things, you need two different mands. G et al. already packed multiple mands and waiting skills into one kit, so the later paper explains why that part matters.

You can copy the kit tomorrow. Give choices, teach a short mand, weave hard tasks inside easy ones, and practice short waits. Do it in the real aisle with the real cart. Staff don’t need a BCBA badge—just a script and a praise line. If it worked in busy supermarkets in 1993, it will work in your Target run today.