The effects of magnitude and quality of reinforcement on choice responding during play activities

Three boys with autism participated in a study of the effects of magnitude and quality of reinforcement on choice responding. Two concurrent response alternatives were arranged: (a) to play in an area where a peer or sibling was located, or (b) to play in an area where there was no peer or sibling. During one condition, the magnitude (i.e., duration of access to toys) or quality (level of preference) of reinforcement provided for both responses was equal. During the other condition, the magnitude or quality of reinforcement was relatively greater for choosing the play area where the peer or sibling was located than the area where the peer or sibling was not located. Results showed that after repeated exposure to the unequal magnitude or quality condition, the participant increasingly allocated his responses to the play area where the peer or sibling was located. For 2 participants, this pattern of responding was maintained in the subsequent equal magnitude or quality condition. Overall, the analysis suggests that the dimensions of magnitude and quality of reinforcement can be arranged to influence choice responding in favor of playing near a peer or sibling rather than playing alone.     

Evaluating Open-Ended Parent Reports and Direct Preference Assessments to Identify Reinforcers for Young Children With Autism

Little research has evaluated open-ended parent reports to identify reinforcers for children with autism. This study evaluated open-ended parent reports and direct preference assessments for six young children with autism in home-based therapy. Results indicated little correspondence between parent reports and direct assessment assessments for all but one child. However, a follow-up reinforcer assessment with two children showed that the top ranked stimulus from both assessments functioned as reinforcers, with one child demonstrating higher levels of responding for the top ranked stimulus from the parent report. Results tentatively support open-ended parent reports to identify reinforcers for young children with autism.     

Use of an Antecedent Intervention to Decrease Vocal Stereotypy of a Student With Autism in the General Education Classroom

This study examined the use of an antecedent-based intervention to reduce the vocal stereotypy of a student diagnosed with Autism within the general education classroom. The student displayed frequent nonfunctional speech and disruptive vocal sounds. An antecedent-based intervention, involving the use of qualitatively different cards—to cue the student when it was appropriate or inappropriate to engage in vocal stereotypy—was designed and implemented. An adaptive alternating treatment design was utilized and conditions were randomized and counterbalanced across treatment sessions. Data on vocal stereotypy were collected using partial interval recording. The results indicated the participant was successful in discriminating between cues and decreased stereotypy during intervention compared to baseline conditions. Similar findings were found when the intervention was implemented across a second school setting.     

A PRACTICAL STRATEGY FOR ONGOING REINFORCER ASSESSMENT

There is a need for practical methods of reinforcer assessment that systematically track ongoing changes in clients' preferences. In this study, the effects of a time-efficient reinforcer assessment package were evaluated in a multiple baseline across 3 preschoolers with autism, comparing individualized item selections by experienced teachers with children's presession preferences for items of various sensory qualities. Systematic assessment of children's reinforcers for correct responding virtually eliminated nontargeted maladaptive behaviors, as well as yielding expected improvements in accuracy. The powerful side-effects of potent reinforcers underline the importance of increased attention to reinforcer assessment in research and practice.     

Effects of reinforcer rate and reinforcer quality on time allocation: Extensions of matching theory to educational settings

We examined how 3 special education students allocated their responding across two concurrently available tasks associated with unequal rates and equal versus unequal qualities of reinforcement. The students completed math problems from two alternative sets on concurrent variable-interval (VI) 30-s VI 120-s schedules of reinforcement. During the equal-quality reinforcer condition, high-quality (nickels) and low-quality items ("program money" in the school's token economy) were alternated across sessions as the reinforcer for both sets of problems. During the unequal-quality reinforcer condition, the low-quality reinforcer was used for the set of problems on the VI 30-s schedule, and the high-quality reinforcer was used for the set of problems on the VI 120-s schedule. Equal- and unequal-quality reinforcer conditions were alternated using a reversal design. Results showed that sensitivity to the features of the VI reinforcement schedules developed only after the reinforcement intervals were signaled through countdown timers. Thereafter, when reinforcer quality was equal, the time allocated to concurrent response alternatives was approximately proportional to obtained reinforcement, as predicted by the matching law. However the matching relation was disrupted when, as occurs in most natural choice situations, the quality of the reinforcers differed across the response options.     

Analysis of activity preferences as a function of differential consequences

Individuals who do not possess the verbal skills to express meaningful choice in the absence of its consequences may have difficulty indicating their preference for protracted activities that are unavailable until some time in the future (e.g., taking a walk, riding a bike). When we examined the preferences of 4 individuals with developmental disabilities by showing them pictorial representations of various activities, their initial choices showed no clear preferences. In a subsequent condition, selecting a photograph resulted in brief access to the depicted activity. When selections produced differential consequences (i.e., access to the activity), clear preferences emerged. In addition, 3 individuals' preferences were later shifted to an initially less preferred but more socially desirable option by superimposing additional reinforcement contingencies for engaging in the less preferred activity. Results are discussed in terms of the conditions under which choice functions as an indicator of preference and how those conditions may be altered to improve the quality of choice making without limiting access to preferred options.     

An evaluation of the value of choice with preschool children

The current study examined the reinforcing effects of choosing among alternatives in a four-part evaluation. In the first study, initial-link responses in a concurrent-chains arrangement resulted in access to terminal links in which the completion of an academic task resulted in (a) the choice of a reinforcer (choice), (b) the delivery of an identical reinforcer (no choice), or (c) no material reinforcer (control). Three patterns of responding emerged: persistent preference for choice (3 participants); initial preference for choice, which did not persist (2 participants); and preference for no choice (1 participant). Additional evaluations determined if preference for choice could be enhanced (Study 2) or established (Study 3) by including more stimuli from which to choose. Choice-link selections systematically increased for all participants when more items were available from which to choose. Study 4 identified the precise value of the opportunity to choose by progressively increasing the response requirement during the choice terminal links for 3 children and determining the point at which these children stopped selecting the choice link. All children continued to select the choice link even when the work required in the choice link was much greater than that arranged in the no-choice link.