Embedded prompting may function as embedded punishment: detection of unexpected behavioral processes within a typical preschool teaching strategy.

This study describes an unexpected behavioral process that influenced behavior during the teaching of concepts to a 4-year-old girl. The efficacy of and preference for three strategies that varied in teacher directedness were assessed in a multielement design and concurrent-chains arrangement, respectively. The strategy that involved the most teacher direction was most efficacious and preferred. In addition, embedded teacher prompts, common in child-led teaching procedures, functioned as a punisher for the child's toy play. Implications for designing effective and preferred teaching conditions are discussed.