Effects of Multiple Schedules of Reinforcement on Appropriate Communication and Challenging Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis

In this review, we summarized and meta-analyzed 35 single-case intervention studies that involved the use of multiple schedules of reinforcement with 78 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Based on Tau-U calculations, multiple schedules of reinforcement produced an overall large effect for appropriate communicative behavior and an overall moderate effect for challenging behavior. To evaluate variability in study outcomes, we conducted moderator analyses across 21 variables using the Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA test. Our findings suggest that the use of response prompts significantly moderated the effects of multiple schedules of reinforcement for appropriate communicative behaviors. We discuss these findings and provide implications for future research and practice.