Designing interventions that include delayed reinforcement: Implications of recent laboratory research

The search for robust and durable interventions in everyday situations typi cally involves the use of delayed reinforcers, sometimes delivered well aft er a target behavior occurs. Integrating the findings from laboratory resea rch on delayed reinforcement can contribute to the design and analysis of t hose applied interventions. As illustrations, we examine articles from the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior that analyzed delayed rein forcement with respect to response allocation (A. M. Williams & Lattal, 199 9), stimulus chaining (B. A. Williams, 1999), and self-control (Jackson & H ackenberg, 1996). These studies help to clarify the conditions under which delayed reinforcement (a) exercises control of behavior, (b) entails condit ioned reinforcement, and (c) displaces the effects of immediate reinforceme nt. The research has applied implications, including the development of pos itive social behavior and teaching people to make adaptive choices.