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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 21, 2026

Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats

Operant Procedures for Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Rats

Published on: February 15, 2015

Using fixed-time schedules to maintain behavior: a preliminary investigation.

C L Dozier¹, J E Carr, K Enlof

¹University of Nevada, Reno, USA. cld@ufl.edu

Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis

|October 27, 2001

Summary

Fixed-time (FT) schedules can maintain learned behaviors in children with autism. This study compared different FT schedules to find their effectiveness in sustaining task performance.

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Area of Science:

Behavioral science
Developmental psychology
Autism spectrum disorder research

Background:

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often involves challenges with behavior maintenance.
Functional tasks are crucial for skill development in children with ASD.
Fixed-time (FT) schedules are a type of reinforcement schedule used in behavior analysis.

Observation:

Two children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder participated in the study.
A functional task was taught to each child.
Three distinct FT schedules (yoked, thin, dense) were systematically compared.

Findings:

The study evaluated the efficacy of different FT schedules in maintaining task-related responding.
Results indicated that FT schedules possess the capacity to sustain previously acquired behaviors.
Specific FT schedule parameters influenced the maintenance of responding.

Implications:

FT schedules offer a potential strategy for behavior maintenance in individuals with ASD.
Findings may inform the development of more effective behavioral interventions for autism.
Further research can explore optimal FT schedule parameters for diverse populations and behaviors.