Prompt Fading
Also called: fading, most-to-least, least-to-most, transfer of stimulus control
Definition
The systematic reduction of supplementary antecedent assistance so that responding transfers from the prompt to the naturally occurring discriminative stimulus. Common arrangements include moving from most intrusive to least intrusive assistance, the reverse, and progressive delay before delivering a prompt.
In plain language
Slowly giving less help, so the person ends up responding to the real situation instead of to your help. The goal is that they do it without you there.
Examples
Hand-over-hand guidance is reduced to a touch at the elbow, then to a gesture, then to nothing at all across several sessions.
Assistance is systematically thinned while the response stays intact.
A staff member waits two seconds before offering a model, then four seconds, giving the learner room to respond independently.
Not prompt fading
Removing all help at once to see whether the learner can manage. That is a probe, not fading, and it risks a long run of errors.
Continuing to give the same physical guidance every session for months. Without reduction there is no fading, and prompt dependence becomes likely.
See also
Written from
- baer-wolf-risley-1968 — Generality of behavior change
Written from standard teaching practice and the stimulus-control literature. No textbook glossary consulted or paraphrased.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.