Episode 118 - Massed Trials vs. the World

ABA Inside Track

Are you like me and you’ve been wondering why massed trials seem to be the most popular format for discrete trial training? Ever think that there could be a better way? Lucky for you, this week we’re using research to pit massed trials head-to-head against other DTT formats in a knock-down, drag-out cage match for the ages. Will interspersed trials cause a big upset? Can distributed trials make it to the final round? Or will massed trials dominate all comers?

Articles discussed this episode:

Henrickson, M.L., Rapp, J.T., & Ashbeck, H.A. (2015). Teaching with massed versus interspersed trials: Effects on acquisition, maintenance, and problem behavior. Behavioral Interventions, 30, 36-50. doi: 10.1002/bin.1396

Majdalany, L.N., Wilder, D.A., Greif, A., Mathisen, D., & Saini, V. (2014). Comparing massed-trial instruction, distributed-trial instruction, and task interspersal to teach tacts to children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 47, 657-662. doi: 10.1002/jaba.149

Haq, S.S., Kodak, T., Kurtz-Nelson, E., Porritt, M., Rush, K., & Cariveau, T. Comparing the effects of massed and distributed practice on skill acquisition for children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48, 454-459. doi: 10.1002/jaba.213

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