ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an example of how antecedent events can affect spontaneous social behavior. One of the goals of developmentally appropriate early education is to allow children to practice spontaneous play and social skills. Behavior analysis itself is sometimes seen as excluding spontaneity, because behavior analysts look for the causes of behavior in the environment, not in the child. Developmental education is often contrasted with behavior-analytic teaching, which is characterized by frequent prompts, programmed learning materials, and reinforcement of clearly defined correct responses. The priming intervention for social initiations can be done in the regular classroom, and it is conducted immediately prior to a regular play activity. The chapter examines the effects of rapid priming on Jeff and Bob's spontaneous initiations to peers in play activities. The effect of rapid prompting is usually explained by saying that children have fewer opportunities to engage in self-stimulation or other competing behaviors.
