Prompting and Fading Procedures Flashcards

A practitioner teaches letter discrimination by initially making the critical feature of the target letter 'b' significantly larger and bolder than the surrounding strokes, then systematically reducing that exaggeration across trials until the letter appears in standard form. Compared to adding an external arrow pointing to the target, what is the primary advantage of the approach the practitioner used?

Answer: Stimulus control transfers to the natural stimulus automatically, because the learner's behavior was never governed by a cue outside the target stimulus

The practitioner used a within-stimulus prompt—a modification embedded in the target stimulus itself. Because the learner's discrimination behavior is already under partial control of the natural stimulus (not an added external cue), stimulus control transfers automatically as the exaggeration is faded. Extra-stimulus prompts (like an arrow) require additional fading steps because behavior is initially controlled by the external cue rather than the target SD, creating a greater risk of incomplete transfer.

A learner is being taught via simultaneous prompting. Probe data collected before each session show the learner responding correctly on 9 of 10 targets across three consecutive sessions. However, during training trials the learner consistently waits silently and never initiates a response before the controlling prompt is delivered. Which of the following BEST describes this pattern?

Answer: This is the expected and acceptable pattern in simultaneous prompting; probe performance is the criterion measure of acquisition

In simultaneous prompting, the controlling prompt is delivered at a 0-second delay on every training trial—there is no opportunity (nor expectation) for an unprompted response during training. Probe trials conducted before training sessions, with no prompt, are the legitimate measure of whether stimulus control has transferred to the natural SD. A learner who never responds before the training prompt but correctly responds during probes is performing exactly as the procedure predicts.

Which of the following most precisely distinguishes graduated guidance from other forms of physical prompting?

Answer: The trainer dynamically adjusts physical contact in real time based on the learner's movement, including maintaining a 'shadow' hand just above the learner's body without touching

The defining feature of graduated guidance is the continuous, real-time adjustment of physical pressure based on the learner's response—the trainer follows the learner's movements, reduces contact when the learner moves correctly, and increases contact when movement stops or deviates. Shadowing (hands hovering without touch) is a key component that prepares for full fading. Other physical prompting procedures typically involve discrete, pre-specified levels rather than this fluid, moment-to-moment calibration.

A learner reliably labels pictures when the trainer leans forward and pauses expectantly before asking 'What is this?' but fails to respond to novel adults who ask the same question without those postural cues. Extensive verbal prompting was used during initial training. Which behavioral mechanism BEST explains the breakdown in generalization?

Answer: Stimulus overselectivity causing the response to come under compound stimulus control that includes the trainer's incidental postural behavior alongside the verbal SD

When prompts are delivered repeatedly alongside the natural SD, the learner's response can come under the control of a compound stimulus—the SD plus the trainer's incidental behaviors (leaning, pausing). This is stimulus overselectivity: the natural verbal SD alone is insufficient to evoke the response because it was never presented in isolation during training. The issue is not generalization across exemplars but rather incomplete transfer of stimulus control away from the trainer's postural cues.

A behavior analyst is selecting between constant time delay (CTD) and progressive time delay (PTD) for a learner with a documented history of high error rates and emotional distress following incorrect responses. Which choice and rationale is MOST defensible?

Answer: PTD, because incrementally increasing the delay interval reduces 'wait-time errors' during early instruction, limiting the error exposure that triggers the learner's distress

Progressive time delay begins at 0 seconds and increases gradually (e.g., 1 s → 2 s → 3 s across sessions), giving the learner incrementally more time to produce an independent response before the controlling prompt. This gradual increase minimizes 'wait-time errors'—impulsive incorrect responses emitted before the delay expires—which are common in error-prone learners. CTD jumps immediately to a fixed delay (often 4–5 s) after initial 0-second trials, producing more errors in learners with low frustration tolerance. Option D incorrectly describes PTD as permanently maintaining 0-second delays.

An adolescent with ASD independently completes the first four steps of a 12-step tooth-brushing chain but reliably engages in repetitive object manipulation during the remaining unprompted steps. The behavior analyst selects a most-to-least (MLT) prompt hierarchy rather than least-to-most (LTM). Which rationale BEST justifies this choice given the learner's profile?

Answer: Beginning with full physical guidance prevents the unprompted steps from becoming an opportunity for stereotypy to contact sensory reinforcement, while also building behavioral momentum through the chain

The clinical justification for MLT here is two-fold: (1) providing immediate physical guidance during the problematic steps prevents stereotypy from being reinforced by its automatic sensory consequences—a critical concern when competing behavior is maintained by automatic reinforcement; and (2) guiding the learner through the full chain from session one establishes behavioral momentum and prevents the pattern of dropping off into stereotypy from being practiced. LTM would withhold assistance initially, creating unprompted intervals where stereotypy could recur and self-reinforce before the trainer intervenes.