2. What Are Preference Assessments & Why Are
They Important
• Procedure to identify an individual’s favorite things so they can be
used as potential reinforcers.
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3. What Are Preference Assessments & Why Are
They Important
• Procedure to identify an individual’s favorite things so they can be
used as potential reinforcers.
• Identifying powerful (or high quality) reinforcers are a necessary
component to:
• Increase skill acquisition
• Decrease problem behaviors
• Increase the learner’s motivation
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4. Two Types of Reinforcers
• Unconditioned/Primary Reinforcers
• There is no learning history, which means these reinforcers were not
previously paired with other reinforcers.
• Biological importance and survival value
• Examples:
• Food
• Sleep
• Oxygen
• Sex
• Water/juice
• Escape from pain
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5. Two Types of Reinforcers
• Conditioned/secondary Reinforcers
• Is a previous neutral stimulus that becomes a reinforcer by being paired with
an unconditioned reinforcer or another conditioned reinforcer
• Examples:
• High 5s
• Money
• Tokens
• Praise (Good job)
• Break from work
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6. Preferences
• Learners have individual preferences that vary over time depending on
various things such as:
• Satiation (i.e. having had a lot of something)
• Deprivation (i.e. not having had something for some time)
• Conditioning history (i.e. items that have been paired with other reinforcers)
• For example, the following may or may not serve as reinforcers for some
people but certainly not at all times
• High five from the behavior technician
• Hugs from mom
• Smile and the words “Good job”
• Salty chips
• Tickles
• Playing hide and seek
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7. Preferences
• Learners have individual preferences that vary over time depending on
various things such as:
• Satiation (i.e. having had a lot of something)
• Deprivation (i.e. not having had something for some time)
• Conditioning history (i.e. items that have been paired with other reinforcers)
• For example, the following may or may not serve as reinforcers for some
people but certainly not at all times:
• High five from the behavior technician
• Hugs from mom
• Smile and the words “Good job”
• Salty chips
• Tickles
• Playing hide and seek
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8. Continuous Assessment
• It is important for RBTs to identify the learner’s preferences as
frequently as possible
• We recommend you conduct full assessments
• Periodically (e.g. every 4 months)
• When contexts or life events change
• new school year
• vacation or after holidays
• major life changes such as a new sibling
• You can conduct mini assessments, pre-session, as frequently as
possible. Examples of mini assessments will be provided in the
following sections
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9. Continuous Assessment
• It is important for RBTs to identify the learner’s preferences as
frequently as possible
• We recommend you conduct full assessments
• Periodically (e.g. every 4 months)
• When contexts or life events change
• new school year
• vacation or after holidays
• major life changes such as a new sibling
• You can conduct mini assessments, pre-session, as frequently as
possible. Examples of mini assessments will be provided in the
following sections
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10. Continuous Assessment
• It is important for RBTs to identify the learner’s preferences as
frequently as possible
• We recommend you conduct full assessments
• Periodically (e.g. every 4 months)
• When contexts or life events change
• new school year
• vacation or after holidays
• major life changes such as a new sibling
• You can conduct mini assessments, pre-session, as frequently as
possible. Examples of mini assessments will be provided in the
following sections.
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11. Reinforcer Surveys
• One method of identifying learner’s potential reinforcers has been to ask
parents, teachers, or caregivers.
• Some known surveys include:
• Reinforcer Checklist (Matson et al., 1999)
• Reinforcer Assessment for Individuals With Severe Disabilities (RAISD; Fisher et al.,
1994)
• Likert questions (Green et al., 1991)
• Surveys can be used initially to select potential stimuli for preference
assessment
imitations:
• Reinforcer surveys have low predictive validity, which means there is low agreement
between caregiver’s report and direct observation of what functions as a reinforcer.
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12. Reinforcer Surveys
• One method of identifying learner’s potential reinforcers has been to ask
parents, teachers, or caregivers.
• Some known surveys include:
• Reinforcer Checklist (Matson et al., 1999)
• Reinforcer Assessment for Individuals With Severe Disabilities (RAISD; Fisher et al.,
1994)
• Likert questions (Green et al., 1991)
• Surveys can be used initially to select potential stimuli for preference
assessment
• Limitations:
• Reinforcer surveys have low predictive validity, which means there is low agreement
between caregiver’s report and direct observation of what functions as a reinforcer.
12
13. Reinforcer Surveys
• One method of identifying learner’s potential reinforcers has been to ask
parents, teachers, or caregivers.
• Some known surveys include:
• Reinforcer Checklist (Matson et al., 1999)
• Reinforcer Assessment for Individuals With Severe Disabilities (RAISD; Fisher et al.,
1994)
• Likert questions (Green et al., 1991)
• Surveys can be used initially to select potential stimuli for preference
assessment
• Limitations:
• Reinforcer surveys have low predictive validity, which means there is low agreement
between caregiver’s report and direct observation of what functions as a reinforcer.
13
14. Reinforcer Surveys
• One method of identifying learner’s potential reinforcers has been to ask
parents, teachers, or caregivers.
• Some known surveys include:
• Reinforcer Checklist (Matson et al., 1999)
• Reinforcer Assessment for Individuals With Severe Disabilities (RAISD; Fisher et al.,
1994)
• Likert questions (Green et al., 1991)
• Surveys can be used initially to select potential stimuli for preference
assessment
• Limitations:
• Reinforcer surveys have low predictive validity, which means there is low agreement
between caregiver’s report and direct observation of what functions as a reinforcer.
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15. Preference Assessments (PA)
• Preference assessments should be used because they:
• have high predictive validity
• are a direct measure of preference
• allow you to identify whether one stimulus is more preferred than others
• give you more confidence on the stimuli you select as potential reinforcers
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17. Before You Begin Any of these Assessments
1. Find an appropriate place to conduct the assessment and set up the learning
environment (i.e. move things around) if necessary
• Might not always have a table available, if that is the case, you might have to conduct the PA
on the:
• floor
• corner of the room
• couch
• patio
2. Remove everything else (e.g. No phones, water bottles, or any other
unnecessary stimuli)
3. Have all the required materials ready:
• Data sheets
• Pen
• Potential reinforcers
• Gloves for edibles
• Tray, plates, etc. to present the stimuli simultaneously
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18. Before You Begin Any of these Assessments
1. Find an appropriate place to conduct the assessment and set up the learning
environment (i.e. move things around) if necessary
• Might not always have a table available, if that is the case, you might have to conduct the PA
on the:
• floor
• corner of the room
• couch
• patio
2. Have all the required materials ready:
• Data sheets
• Pen
• Potential reinforcers
• Gloves for edibles
• Tray, plates, etc. to present the stimuli simultaneously
3. Remove everything else (e.g. No phones, water bottles, or any other
unnecessary stimuli)
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19. Before You Begin Any of these Assessments
1. Find an appropriate place to conduct the assessment and set up the learning
environment (i.e. move things around) if necessary
• Might not always have a table available, if that is the case, you might have to conduct the PA
on the:
• floor
• corner of the room
• couch
• patio
2. Have all the required materials ready:
• Data sheets
• Pen
• Potential reinforcers
• Gloves for edibles
• Tray, plates, etc. to present the stimuli simultaneously
3. Remove everything else (e.g. No phones, water bottles, or any other
unnecessary stimuli)
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20. Single-Stimulus (SS) Preference Assessment
Overview
• Also called approach or engagement-based
• You present one stimulus at a time
• Let the learner approach, consume, or engage with that stimulus
• Present each stimulus several times in a random order.
• Record percentage of trials in which each stimulus was approached or
consumed
• If using engagement-based, record the amount of time the learner engages with each
item.
• Do not place demands or restrictions at this time. For example, do not
remove the item if the learner is still engaging with it.
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21. Single-Stimulus (SS) Preference Assessment
Overview
• This is the quickest and easiest assessment but sometimes not as valid
• To use this procedure, the learner must show approach to some but not all stimuli
you present
• SS most appropriate to use:
• Assessing preference of stimuli that require a longer access period for the individual
to contact the reinforcing properties of the stimuli
• If the learner engages in problem behavior when preferred stimuli are removed
• If the learner engages in problem behavior when asked to do something
• For individuals who are lower functioning or physically impaired and may have
difficulty choosing among stimuli presented simultaneously
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