A Systematic Review of Simultaneous Prompting and Prompt Delay Procedures

Prompt-fading procedures are ubiquitous in instructional interventions. Two prompt-fading procedures, prompt delay and simultaneous prompting, are consistently shown to be efficacious, although few studies have directly compared the two procedures. These comparisons are warranted as the training procedures in simultaneous prompting are procedurally identical to the conditions initially arranged in prompt delay procedures (i.e., 0-s prompt delay). Therefore, efficiency may be directly related to the number of 0-s prompts presented in prompt delay procedures. Past research has emphasized the necessity of fading prompts to avoid prompt dependence, yet prompt dependence is rarely described in the simultaneous prompting literature. The current systematic review synthesizes the findings of 11 articles comparing simultaneous and prompt delay procedures across seven behavior analytic and educational journals. Overall, the findings suggest that simultaneous prompting and prompt delay procedures are similarly efficient, although the former was associated with fewer errors to mastery in over 70% of instructional comparisons. Additional research is needed to better describe the conditions in which traditional prompt delay or prompt fading procedures are necessary to produce transfer of stimulus control.