Preference for leisure items over edible items in individuals with dementia: A replication

Abstract

We replicated previous research in which adults with dementia tended to show a preference for leisure items over edible items when presented in the same array. Additionally, we conducted engagement analyses with the highest, middle, and lowest preference leisure items to determine whether relative preference corresponded to engagement in the natural environment. The most highly preferred stimulus for six out of seven participants was a leisure item, and for each of those six the top three preferred stimuli were leisure stimuli. For four participants, the most preferred stimulus also produced the longest duration of engagement. We discuss the issues we encountered when conducting preference assessments with adults with intact vocal verbal repertoires, and suggest potential explanations for the displacement of edibles by leisure stimuli in older adults with dementia.

Evaluating preference displacement of edible stimuli and social interactions for typically developing preschool children

“…Several other studies, however, found that leisure stimuli were not always displaced by edible stimuli (Andakyan et al., 2016; Carter & Zonneveld, 2020; Clark et al., 2020; Conine & Vollmer, 2019; Lucock et al., 2020; Ortega et al., 2012; Sipila‐Thomas et al., 2021; Slanzi et al., 2020). Andakyan et al.…”

“…A disproportional preference for one type of stimulus (e.g., edible items) over other types of stimuli has been referred to as preference displacement in past studies (DeLeon et al, 1997). Previous studies have investigated preference displacement of different stimulus classes by first conducting single-class preference assessments and then combining the most preferred stimuli from each single-class assessment into a combined-class preference assessment (e.g., leisure vs. edible) (Andakyan et al, 2016;Bojak & Carr, 1999;Carter & Zonneveld, 2020;Clark et al, 2020;Conine & Vollmer, 2019;DeLeon et al, 1997;Fahmie et al, 2015;Hoffman et al, 2017;Kanaman et al, 2022;Lucock et al, 2020;Ortega et al, 2012;Sipila-Thomas et al, 2021;Slanzi et al, 2020). Some studies evaluating preference displacement found that participants disproportionately selected edible items over leisure items when presented in the same preference assessments (Bojak & Carr, 1999;DeLeon et al, 1997;Fahmie et al, 2015).…”

“…Several other studies, however, found that leisure stimuli were not always displaced by edible stimuli (Andakyan et al, 2016;Carter & Zonneveld, 2020;Clark et al, 2020;Conine & Vollmer, 2019;Lucock et al, 2020;Ortega et al, 2012;Sipila-Thomas et al, 2021;Slanzi et al, 2020). Andakyan et al (2016), for example, investigated the displacement of leisure items and edible items for four children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.…”