Relational frame
The temporal frame
Relating events in time: before, after, then, now.
What it looks like
Temporal framing is what allows a learner to talk about events that are not present, which makes it central to planning, to recounting, and to instruction-following that spans more than one step.
Like comparison, it reverses under mutual entailment. If lunch comes before nap, then nap comes after lunch, and it is transitive across a sequence.
Worked example
A learner is taught that we wash hands before we eat, and that we eat before we go outside.
They derive that washing hands comes before going outside, and that going outside comes after washing hands, without either relation being taught directly.
How to build a lesson for this frame
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Start with lived sequences
Use routines the learner already performs. Temporal relations are easier to establish when the sequence is already in their repertoire behaviourally.
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Train adjacent pairs both ways
Teach before and after for each adjacent pair, so the reversal is fluent before you probe across the sequence.
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Probe non-adjacent relations
Test the first-to-last relation. That is the derived response the lesson targets.
Common pitfalls
Teaching only forward order produces learners who can recite a sequence but cannot answer an "after" question, which is a recitation repertoire rather than a relational one. Always train and probe both directions.
Build a temporal lesson
Draft the trial structure in RFT App, then edit it into the program you actually want.
See how it worksOther relational frames
Common questions
- What is a temporal frame?
- A relational frame that relates events in time, using relations such as before, after, first, and last.
- Why does temporal framing matter?
- It lets a learner respond to events that are not physically present, which underpins planning, recounting, and multi-step instruction-following.