A Parametric Single-Case Analysis and Social Validation of the High-Probability Request Sequence

Noncompliance with adult instruction is a common problem exhibited by individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The high-probability (high-p) request sequence was designed to increase compliance with low-probability (low-p) instructions by rapidly presenting high-p instructions immediately prior to the targeted low-p instruction. This study evaluated the use of three different levels of the high-p request sequence (i.e., one instruction, three instructions, and six instructions) to increase the compliance of five children who were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Results indicated that all three levels of the high-p request sequence were often successful in increasing compliance with low-p instructions; however, when given the opportunity to choose, participants and caregivers (i.e., mothers and therapists) tended to prefer the high-p request sequence with three instructions.

Multiactivity in adult-child interaction: accounts resolving conflicting courses of action in request sequences

This paper studies adults’ responses to children’s requests by focusing on turns that account for not granting the request on the grounds of involvement in another activity, i.e., multiactivity. The data consist of everyday interactions among family members at homes and in cars. The collection – 17 request sequences – is analysed with the conversation analytic method. We show the following: first, account turns verbalise either the ongoing or the requested activity, or both; second, account turns are a practice for foregrounding and communicating “exclusive order”, i.e., they indicate that two progressing activities intersect with each other and cannot be progressed simultaneously, and that one activity is prioritised over another; third, account turns are used either to suspend or abandon the course of action initiated by the request; fourth, accounts – through various sequential and turn design features – display adults’ level of commitment to resuming and returning to the requested activity later; and, finally, accounts indicating high commitment negotiate the “sequential implicativenesses” of the intersecting courses of action, displaying orientation to progress initiated activities. Accounts that display partial or no commitment frame the prioritisation of an activity in terms of “incapability” or “unwillingness” to progress the request sequence and thereby construct the “limits of multiactivity” in situ.

Feeling Manipulated: How Tip Request Sequence Impacts Customers and Service Providers?

Technology is changing frontline service scripts. Businesses are now using mobile point-of-sale applications (e.g., Square) and mobile technology (e.g., iPad) to prompt customers for tips. Tip requests are occurring more frequently at the start of service transactions, before any service has been provided. This research examines how requesting a tip either before or after service completion affects customers and service providers. We test the effects of preservice versus postservice tip sequence in four studies (a natural experiment in the field and three controlled experiments) across food and beauty service contexts. Findings reveal that requesting a tip before (vs. after) completing a service leads to smaller tips, reduced return intentions, diminished word-of-mouth intentions, and lower online ratings. Inferred manipulative intent is revealed as the psychological mechanism underlying the harmful effects of requesting a tip before service. Findings suggest that emphasizing the benefits of automated point-of-sale systems can reduce, but not eliminate, the negative effects of preservice tip requests. Contrary to norms within the service industry, we find that service providers should avoid requesting tips before serving customers.

Telescoping responses to requests: Unpacking progressivity

In this paper, we identify and describe a new practice for responding to unfinished requests, which we call telescoping responses, due to their being designed for telescoping the request sequence forward in the face of troubles with progressivity and in producing the request. Considering cases from an American shoe repair shop, we demonstrate that telescoping responses serve to telescope request sequences exactly because they are neither syntactically, prosodically or pragmatically fitted to the unfinished requests that they respond to.

A Qualitative Interview With Young Children: What Encourages or Inhibits Young Children’s Participation?

The goal of every qualitative interview is to produce rich data. Inducing storytelling is a challenge in every interview. Interviews with young children (ages 3–6) present an additional challenge because of perceived power differences between children and adults. This research examines how interviewers’ questions and expressions encourage or inhibit children from telling their stories. We extracted 1,339 child interviewee–adult interviewer turn exchanges from a national study on children’s perspectives on risk and protection ( N = 420) and analyzed them in two steps. First, we categorized the interviewers’ questions and expressions and children’s responses. Seven categories were found for interviewer expressions and five for children’s responses. We then examined the relationship between interviewer categories and children’s responses. The categories that produced the richest data were encouragement, open-ended questions, and question request. Sequence of utterances and closed-ended questions produced the least storytelling. We did not find significant differences based on a child’s gender with regard to the interviewer categories. The results and implications for researching young children are addressed.

Systematic Review of High Probability Requests in K-12 Settings: Examining the Evidence Base

We conducted this systematic review to classify the evidence-base status for high-probability request sequence (HPRS) as a strategy to improve students’ behavioral outcomes in general and special education settings across the K-12 continuum. Specifically, the purpose of this review was to determine whether HPRS could be classified as an evidence-based practice according to Council for Exceptional Children’s Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education employing a modified, weighted coding scheme specifying methodologically sound studies as meeting 80% or more of components across quality indicators (QIs). Two of the 22 included studies met all QIs, and 16 studies met or exceeded our 80% weighted criterion. Based on this body of evidence, we classified HPRS in K-12 school settings as potentially evidence based. We offer a discussion of educational implications, limitations, and future directions.

High-Probability Request Sequence: An Effective, Efficient Low-Intensity Strategy to Support Student Success

High-probability request sequence (HPRS) is a low-intensity strategy designed to increase student compliance by creating behavioral momentum. Momentum is established by providing three to five requests that a noncompliant student is most likely to do followed quickly by a less preferred request. Herein, we describe a step-by-step process for using HPRS in schools. Throughout, we offer lessons from practitioners who have used HPRS with students, including those at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders.

Effective Low-Intensity Strategies to Enhance School Success: What Every Educator Needs to Know—A Closing Commentary

Researchers have identified low-intensity classroom management strategies that, when implemented consistently, lead to significant improvements in student behavior. The strategies detailed in this special issue—behavior-specific praise, high-probability request sequence, precorrection, active supervision, instructional choice, and instructional feedback—can easily be embedded within academic instruction and result in decreased student disruptive behavior and increased academic engagement.