An evaluation of simultaneous and sequential presentation of preferred and nonpreferred food to treat food selectivity

In the current investigation, we compared two methods of food presentation (simultaneous vs. sequential) to increase consumption of nonpreferred food for 3 children with food selectivity. In the simultaneous condition, preferred foods were presented at the same time as nonpreferred food (e.g., a piece of broccoli was presented on a chip). In the sequential condition, acceptance of the nonpreferred food resulted in presentation of the preferred food. Increases in consumption occurred immediately during the simultaneous condition for 2 of the 3 participants. For 1 participant, increases in consumption occurred in the simultaneous condition relative to the sequential condition, but only after physical guidance and re-presentation were added to treatment. Finally, consumption increased for 1 participant in the sequential condition, but only after several sessions. These results are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms that may alter preferences for food (i.e., establishing operations, flavor-flavor conditioning).     

A comparison of ready foods to institutional food

This study was conducted as a preliminary investigation of Ready Foods versus Institutional Food in a state residential facility serving approximately 500 mentally retarded residents. One administrative unit of the facility serving approximately 160 residents was used as the setting for the study. Along with residents in this unit, a variety of staff, client advocates, and volunteer workers participated in the investigation. Results were: (1) staff, client advocate, and volunteer worker responses significantly favored Ready Foods; (2) residents selected Ready Foods significantly more than Institutional Food; (3) residents displayed greater overall food waste with the Institutional Food as compared to the Ready Foods; (4) some residents displayed less choking or gagging with ready foods than with Institutional Food; and (5) out of 6 residents who were chronically overweight displayed statistically significant weight gain within one week after beginning Ready Foods and significant weight loss after the return to Institutional Food. Advantages of a Ready Foods System are discussed.     

An evaluation of emerging preference for non‐preferred foods targeted in the treatment of food selectivity

Several studies have shown that the acquisition of food consumption does not occur until after escape prevention is implemented. However, the mechanism responsible for the maintenance of food consumption may be due to participants contacting the reinforcing properties of food targeted during intervention such that the food naturally reinforces food consumption. The present study extended the literature on feeding disorders by conducting pre‐ and post‐treatment preference assessments to determine if preference for non‐preferred foods (NPFs) had developed after exposure to a treatment comparison of sequential and simultaneous food presentation; presentation methods were implemented alone and combined with escape prevention in the form of a non‐removal of the spoon (NRS) procedure. Results for three participants with food selectivity indicated that preference for NPFs developed after being exposed to those foods during either treatment sessions or generalization probes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of a modified sequential oral sensory approach to an applied behavior‐analytic approach in the treatment of food selectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder

Treatments of pediatric feeding disorders based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) have the most empirical support in the research literature (Volkert & Piazza, 2012); however, professionals often recommend, and caregivers often use, treatments that have limited empirical support. In the current investigation, we compared a modified sequential oral sensory approach (M‐SOS; Benson, Parke, Gannon, & Muñoz, 2013) to an ABA approach for the treatment of the food selectivity of 6 children with autism. We randomly assigned 3 children to ABA and 3 children to M‐SOS and compared the effects of treatment in a multiple baseline design across novel, healthy target foods. We used a multielement design to assess treatment generalization. Consumption of target foods increased for children who received ABA, but not for children who received M‐SOS. We subsequently implemented ABA with the children for whom M‐SOS was not effective and observed a potential treatment generalization effect during ABA when M‐SOS preceded ABA.     

Successive versus simultaneous presentation of forms in oral stereognostic testing.

Two forms of 55 pairs of plastic forms were orally presented one at a time to a group of 30 adults at 5-sec. intervals and to 30 other adults simultaneously. The latter subjects made significantly more errors, particularly between classes of forms.     

Instructive feedback: A comparison of simultaneous and alternating presentation of non-target stimuli

Instructive feedback involves presenting extra, non-target stimuli in the consequent events for children's responses. Two methods of presenting instructive feedback during direct instruction were compared. These methods involved presenting two extra stimuli on all trials, and presenting the two extra stimuli separately on alternating trials. Preschool students were taught coin combinations using a constant time delay procedure with instructive feedback stimuli added to both praise and correction statements. An adapted alternating treatments design was used to evaluate the two methods of presenting instructive feedback. The students were assessed to determine the extent to which instructive feedback stimuli were learned. The results indicate that students learned some of the instructive feedback stimuli and no consistent differences in the effectiveness of the two presentation methods were noted. Further, relationships between the two instructive feedback stimuli appeared to be established. Implications for instruction and future research are discussed.     

Probing Proctor's priming principle: the effect of simultaneous and sequential presentation on same-different judgments

Three explanations (internal noise, priming, relative frequency) of the fast-same effect were examined. The internal-noise principle, which predicts more errors as well as faster correct judgments on same pairs, was consistently confirmed even with sequential presentation. More elusive was priming, that is, the facilitation of encoding from letter repetition with sequential presentation. Priming was inhibited by the presence of intertrial letter repetition. The error data indicated that priming involves an increased efficiency in encoding (d'), as Proctor claimed, rather than a criterion shift (beta), as Krueger and Shapiro claimed. An alternative to the priming explanation, based on the greater susceptibility of simultaneous presentation to analytical processing, was tested and disconfirmed. Stimulus-set size did not affect the speed advantage for same pairs, thus disconfirming the relative-frequency explanation, according to which same judgments are faster because typically there are fewer unique same than different pairs.     

The effect of simultaneous and sequential presentation of stimulus dimensions on absolute judgment accuracy

The effects of spatial stimulus repetition, sequential stimulus repetition, spatially separated dimensional redundancy, and sequentially presented dimensional redundancy on absolute judgment accuracy of hue and brightness were compared. Two exposure durations, 0.1 and 2.0 sec, were used. While spatial repetition did not improve accuracy for either dimension, the sequential repetition of brightness produced a small increase in accuracy. The spatial presentation of correlated values of both dimensions increased accuracy only at the 2.0-sec duration. The sequential presentation of both dimensions increased accuracy, but only at the 2.0-sec duration was this gain substantial and greater than that provided by the sequential repetition of brightness alone.     

Parental assessment and treatment of food selectivity in natural settings

This study evaluated the effects of a parent-conducted functional analysis and treatment consisting of differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior, escape extinction, and demand fading on food selectivity in a young child with autism. Increases in food acceptance at home and in a restaurant were obtained.     

Fixed versus variable sequences of food and stimulus presentation in second-order schedules

Three pigeons were exposed to a second-order schedule in which the behavior specified by a fixed-interval component schedule was reinforced according to a ratio overall schedule. The completion of components not followed by food was signalled by a brief stimulus never paired with food. Food and the stimulus occurred in a random sequence or in fixed alternation, but the overall schedules (variable ratio 2 or fixed ratio 2) ensured that an equal number of food and brief-stimulus presentations occurred in each session. The control exerted by the food and by the brief stimulus was measured by overall response rates, mean pauses, frequency distributions of pauses, and response patterning across components. In general, the stimulus controlled patterns of behavior more similar to those controlled by food when food and the stimulus occurred in a random sequence than when they occurred in fixed alternation.     

A comparison of two multicomponent treatment packages for food refusal

Food refusal is a severe feeding problem in which children refuse to eat all or most foods, which can be treated effectively using multicomponent intervention packages. This study compared two multicomponent treatment packages on food and drink consumption, inappropriate mealtime behavior, and total intake in a child with food refusal. Bite and drink consumption was consistently higher; inappropriate mealtime behavior was consistently lower; and total intake was greater when differential reinforcement of alternative behavior and escape extinction treatment were implemented compared to response cost, escape extinction, and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior.     

A further refinement of procedures addressing food selectivity

Individuals with autism and/or developmental disabilities are more likely than their typically developing peers to be food selective. Evidence‐based treatment packages for food refusal and selectivity include the use of reinforcement, escape extinction, and manipulation of antecedent events . In the current study, the variety of foods consumed by two adolescent males with food selectivity were systematically increased to include a variety of foods across all of the food groups. A changing criterion design was used to systematically increase the expectation of the amount and variety of foods that were consumed.     

Utilizing a home‐based parent training approach in the treatment of food selectivity

Evaluating effects of utilizing parents as therapists for treating behavior problems has become increasingly important in the dissemination and practice of applied behavior analysis. However, home‐based parent training approaches have been underused in treating feeding problems. In this study, mothers were trained to implement differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) combined with non‐removal of the spoon and demand fading for the treatment of their childrens' food selectivity. The procedures were highly effective and generalization to untargeted foods was observed. Parent procedural integrity and parent collected interobserver agreement (IOA) data remain high throughout the study. This study also demonstrated an effective method for systematically decreasing reinforcement magnitude and schedules in an effort to mimic traditional reinforcer delivery such as intermittently providing a dessert at the end of the meal. Finally, this study successfully increased a demand fading ratio of 50–150% without noticeable side effects. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of behavioral skills training on parental treatment of children's food selectivity

We used behavioral skills training to teach parents of 3 children with autism spectrum disorder and food selectivity to conduct a home-based treatment package that consisted of taste exposure, escape extinction, and fading. Parent performance following training improved during both taste sessions and probe meals and was reflected in increases in children's acceptance of bites and decreases in their disruptive behavior. Parents also reported that increases in diet variety were maintained at follow-up.     

A comparison of responding maintained under second-order schedules of intramuscular cocaine injection or food presentation in squirrel monkeys.

Key pressing by squirrel monkeys was maintained under second-order schedules of either intramuscular cocaine injection or food presentation. Under one schedule, each completion of a 10-response fixed-ratio unit produced a brief visual stimulus; the first fixed-ratio unit completed after 30 minutes elapsed produced the stimulus paired with either cocaine injection or food presentation. Generally, short pauses followed by high rates of responding were maintained within the fixed-ratio units, and responding was positively accelerated over the 30-minute interval. Under another schedule, each completion of a 3-minute fixed-interval unit produced the brief stimulus; completion of the 10th fixed-interval unit produced the stimulus paired with either cocaine injection or food presentation. Generally, short pauses followed by high rates of responding were maintained within the fixed-ratio units, and responding was positively accelerated over the 30-minute interval. Under another schedule, each completion of a 3-minute fixed-interval unit produced the brief stimulus; completion of the 10th fixed-interval unit produced the stimulus paired with either cocaine injection or food presentation. Rates of responding increased within the fixed-interval units, and to a greater extent over the entire 10 fixed-interval units. Patterns of responding depended more on the schedule of reinforcement than on whether cocaine or food maintained responding. Omitting the brief stimuli following all but the last fixed-ratio or fixed-interval units decreased average rates and altered the patterns of responding. Substituting a visual stimulus that was never paired with cocaine or food following all but the last fixed-ratio or fixed-interval units decreased response rates to a lesser extent and did not substantially alter patterns of responding. When the duration of the paired stimulus was varied from .3 to 30.0 seconds, the highest response rates occurred at intermediate durations (1.0 to 10.0 seconds). The manner in which the stimulus changes affected performances depended more on the schedule of reinforcement than on whether cocaine injection or food presentation maintained responding.     

A component analysis of a parent‐conducted multi‐component treatment for food selectivity

Treatment packages including differential reinforcement of alternative (DRA) behavior and escape prevention in the form of a non‐removal of the spoon procedure have been shown to successfully increase food consumption. However, when these treatment components are introduced simultaneously, the treatment component(s) responsible for behavior change cannot be determined. The purpose of this study was to conduct a sequential component analysis of the following treatment components: Bite fading, manipulation of reinforcer magnitude, and escape prevention. For two participants, food consumption did not increase until after escape prevention was introduced. For one participant, increased food consumption was observed after the magnitude of reinforcement was increased; therefore, escape prevention was not necessary. Results were maintained at a 12‐week follow‐up for all participants. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporal limits of selection and memory encoding: A comparison of whole versus partial report in rapid serial visual presentation

People often fail to recall the second of two visual targets presented within 500 ms in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). This effect is called the attentional blink. One explanation of the attentional blink is that processes involved in encoding the first target into memory are slow and capacity limited. Here, however, we show that the attentional blink should be ascribed to attentional selection, not consolidation of the first target. Rapid sequences of six letters were presented, and observers had to report either all the letters (whole-report condition) or a subset of the letters (partial-report condition). Selection in partial report was based on color (e.g., report the two red letters) or identity (i.e., report all letters from a particular letter onward). In both cases, recall of letters presented shortly after the first selected letter was impaired, whereas recall of the corresponding letters was relatively accurate with whole report.     

Bite size and texture assessments to prescribe treatment for severe food selectivity in autism

Separate evaluations of bite size (amount of food on the spoon) and food texture were used to prescribe treatment changes in a feeding protocol for a 3‐year‐old male with autism and severe food selectivity. Each evaluation revealed distinct behavioral topographies, with an increase in disruptive behaviors associated with increased bite sizes and decreased swallowing and higher rates of gagging associated with higher textures. The results of each evaluation were used to successfully guide increases in volume and texture during therapeutic meals. Results highlight the importance of considering both aversion to food as well as oral motor skills when designing treatment for children with food selectivity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of presentation methods of video identification parades

Researchers have demonstrated that sequential lineup presentation reduces false identifications from perpetrator absent lineups. In England and Wales police identification parades are shown on video in a sequential manner. However, police sequential presentation varies from the strict sequential presentation advocated by researchers. In addition, after police have shown the sequential presentation they also have the option to show witnesses a matrix of the parade where witnesses can see all members of the parade simultaneously. The research reported investigated the effect of strict sequential presentation, police sequential presentation and police sequential presentation plus matrix on mock witnesses' performance on perpetrator present and absent video identification parades. Strict sequential presentation led to fewer correct identifications of the perpetrator than police sequential and police sequential plus matrix, with no difference in performance between either of the police conditions. For perpetrator absent lineups there was no effect of lineup presentation condition on lineup performance. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.