Community-referenced activities: implications for establishing stimulus control

Community-referenced activities involve skill clusters that may be extended over time and/or intertwined with collateral skills. Such multiplex response chains differ in numerous ways from the discrete responses shaped in repetitive trial instruction. Specifically, community living response chains are characterized by the length of the chain, the response classes contained in the chain, and the implicit variations within the chain. Characteristics of these activity chains were analyzed in order to exact implications for enhancing instructional procedures. Given the variety of stimulus control strategies available, this discussion may effect a more deliberate selection of a procedure that is applicable to the varied stimuli and responses in daily living activities.