Multiple schedules in practical application: Research trends and implications for future investigation

Abstract

Researchers began studying multiple schedules in basic laboratories, but recent advances have extended research on multiple schedules to a wide variety of socially significant applications, especially during the last decade. Applied researchers have used multiple schedules to (a) promote stimulus control over high-rate appropriate behaviors, (b) thin the schedule of reinforcement following functional communication training, and (c) obtain stimulus control over problem behaviors maintained by automatic reinforcement. In the current paper, we reviewed 31 studies with 147 applications identified through a search of the applied literature on multiple schedules. Using these studies, we (a) reviewed the empirical literature on multiple schedules, (b) recommended multiple-schedule procedures that serve as best practice guidelines for applied behavior analysts, (c) identified the generality and boundaries of current knowledge about the effectiveness of multiple schedules, and (d) critically analyzed the literature to provide directions for future multiple-schedule research.

Keywords: discrimination training; multiple schedules; reinforcement-schedule thinning; reviews; stimulus control.

© 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Figures

Figure 1

The cumulative number of studies that have used at least one application of a multiple schedule between 1980 and 2014, based on the 31 studies included in the present review.