Effects of Reinforcement Choice on Task Responding in Individuals With Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The effects of reinforcement choice on task performance were examined with 6 individuals who had been diagnosed with severe to profound mental retardation. Five highly preferred items were identified for each participant via stimulus preference assessments. Participants then were exposed to choice and no-choice conditions that were alternated within reversal and multielement designs. During choice sessions, participants were permitted to select between two preferred stimuli contingent on responding. During nochoice sessions, the therapist delivered a single item contingent on responding. Preference for the stimuli was held constant across conditions by yoking the items delivered during no-choice sessions to those selected during the immediately preceding choice sessions. All participants exhibited similar rates of responding across choice and no-choice conditions. These findings indicate that for individuals with severe disabilities, access to choice may not improve task performance when highly preferred items are already incorporated into instructional programs.

Identifying Games as Consequences of Choice Behavior for Children

“…If the choice can be made as a reinforcer, teachers and clinics should provide an additional strategy to treat individuals with severe and profound disability. Furthermore, these fi ndings show the importance of providing frequent choice opportunities to individuals (Lerman et al, 1997).…”

“…This procedure could be carried out in future studies (Lerman et al, 1997). Using the Matching procedure most likely made the photos of the games acquire conditioned reinforcement value, as well as adding more reliability to the study, demonstrating the possibility of more control in translational and applied research.…”

Falhas na comunicação: queixas secundárias para demandas primárias em psicoterapia de família

“…Ao se pensar na consequência social como reforçador condicionado, as consequências sociais poderiam inicialmente ser pareadas com reforçadores primários até elas adquirirem valor reforçador condicionado e depois seriam retirados os reforçadores primários, esse procedimento poderia ser realizado em estudos futuros (Lerman et al, 1997). A utilização do procedimento de Matching, muito provavelmente, fez com que as fotos dos jogos adquirissem valor reforçador condicionado, além de atestar mais confi abilidade ao estudo, demonstrando a possibilidade de mais controle em pesquisas translacionais e aplicadas.…”

“…Se a escolha puder ser estabelecida como um reforçador, professores e clínicos deverão apresentar uma estratégia de tratamento adicional para indivíduos com defi ciências severas e profundas. Adicionalmente, tais descobertas ressaltariam a importância de prover frequentes oportunidades de escolha aos indivíduos (Lerman et al,1997).…”

Differentiation of Preference Using ResponseReinforcement Delay in a Child with Autism: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

“…Many studies have assessed the preferences of children with autism and severe or profound developmental delay [1]. Lerman et al [2] found that the opportunity for making a choice appears to be beneficial for these individuals. Romaniuk et al [3] reported that individuals who display challenging behaviours often exhibit these when they are given opportunities to make choices, thus demonstrating a stimulus preference.…”