This study examined response persistence during extinction following the delivery of quantity- or time-based reinforcers. Three typically developing preschool students participated in the study. In Experiment 1, equally preferred quantity-based and time-based reinforcers were identified for each participant. In Experiment 2, response persistence was evaluated during extinction following a period of reinforcement using equivalent variable interval schedules assigned to each reinforcement type. The results of this research further support the finding that reinforcement rate is a predictor of persistence (Nevin, 1974). However, type of reinforcer (i.e., quantity-based or time-based) did not have a uniform effect on the persistence of responding once extinction was implemented.

The present study assessed if embedding high probability responding (high-p) into an attentional cue, versus a general attentional cue (GA), would result in students with moderate and severe disabilities displaying differential responding for grade level science vocabulary word identification. Using an adapted alternating treatments design, three students with autism spectrum disorder received an intervention involving a GA cue and one with a high-p to determine which is more efficient. Hypothesized results are that the attentional cue with a high-probability motor sequence would be more effective for teaching vocabulary word identification.