A Comparison of Two Approaches for Identifying Reinforcers for Persons With Severe and Profound Disabilities

Abstract

The development of effective training programs for persons with profound mental retardation remains one of the greatest challenges for behavior analysts working in the field of developmental disabilities. One significant advancement for this population has been the reinforcer assessment procedure developed by Pace, Ivancic, Edwards, Iwata, and Page (1985), which involves repeatedly presenting a variety of stimuli to the client and then measuring approach behaviors to differentiate preferred from nonpreferred stimuli. One potential limitation of this procedure is that some clients consistently approach most or all of the stimuli on each presentation, making it difficult to differentiate among these stimuli. In this study, we used a concurrent operants paradigm to compare the Pace et al. (1985) procedure with a modified procedure wherein clients were presented with two stimuli simultaneously and were given access only to the first stimulus approached. The results revealed that this forced-choice stimulus preference assessment resulted in greater differentiation among stimuli and better predicted which stimuli would result in higher levels of responding when presented contingently in a concurrent operants paradigm.

Identifying Indices of Happiness and Unhappiness Among Adults With Autism: Potential Targets for Behavioral Assessment and Intervention

“…To further validate the individualized definitions of happiness and unhappiness indices, a choice comparison was conducted with each participant (Fisher et al, 1992). It was reasoned that if the definitions were valid, then situations in which a participant exhibited more happiness indices should be chosen more frequently than situations showing less (or no) happiness indices.…”

Toward Effective and Preferred Programming: A Case for the Objective Measurement of Social Validity with Recipients of Behavior-Change Programs

“…The technology for allowing persons with intellectual disabilities to choose from among two or more items, often referred to as preference assessments, has steadily advanced over the past 20 years (DeLeon & Iwata, 1996;Fisher et al, 1992;Pace, Ivancic, Edwards, Iwata, & Page, 1985). However, preference assessments usually allow people to choose only from among items that can be placed in one's hand or on a table top (e.g., toys, candy, etc.).…”

The expression and assessment of emotions and internal states in individuals with severe or profound intellectual disabilities

“…Lindauer, DeLeon, and Fisher (1999) Fisher et al 1992). Green and Reid (1996) operationally defined facial expressions of happiness and unhappiness in order to evaluate a program aimed at increasing happiness in individuals with profound intellectual disabilities.…”