Units of analysis in acquisition-performance criteria for "mastery": A systematic replication.

This study compared 2 units of analysis for assessing acquisition mastery during sight word instruction for 3 participants. The unit of analysis refers to the specific performances that criteria are applied to, either sets of stimuli or individual operants. In the Set Analysis condition, we applied the acquisition-performance criterion to the aggregated accuracy of a set of 4 target operants. In the Operant Analysis (OA) condition, we assessed the criterion for individual operants and replaced targets as they met the acquisition criterion. All participants acquired novel textual responses to sight words faster under the OA condition and response maintenance was similar between conditions. This study extended previous research by showing enhanced response maintenance in the OA condition by increasing the performance criterion from 1 observation of 100% accuracy to 2. This study also suggests a unique contribution of OA to quickening learning.