Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis logoLink to Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
. 1997 Fall;30(3):411–422. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1997.30-411

Effects of reinforcement choice on task responding in individuals with developmental disabilities.

D C Lerman 1, B A Iwata 1, B Rainville 1, J D Adelinis 1, K Crosland 1, J Kogan 1
PMCID: PMC1284059  PMID: 9316256

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 no-choice 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.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (191.9 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bambara L. M., Ager C., Koger F. The effects of choice and task preference on the work performance of adults with severe disabilities. J Appl Behav Anal. 1994 Fall;27(3):555–556. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1994.27-555. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bannerman D. J., Sheldon J. B., Sherman J. A., Harchik A. E. Balancing the right to habilitation with the right to personal liberties: the rights of people with developmental disabilities to eat too many doughnuts and take a nap. J Appl Behav Anal. 1990 Spring;23(1):79–89. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1990.23-79. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brigham T. A., Sherman J. A. Effects of choice and immediacy of reinforcement on single response and switching behavior of children. J Exp Anal Behav. 1973 May;19(3):425–435. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1973.19-425. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dunlap G., Kern-Dunlap L., Clarke S., Robbins F. R. Functional assessment, curricular revision, and severe behavior problems. J Appl Behav Anal. 1991 Summer;24(2):387–397. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1991.24-387. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dunlap G., dePerczel M., Clarke S., Wilson D., Wright S., White R., Gomez A. Choice making to promote adaptive behavior for students with emotional and behavioral challenges. J Appl Behav Anal. 1994 Fall;27(3):505–518. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1994.27-505. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dyer K., Dunlap G., Winterling V. Effects of choice making on the serious problem behaviors of students with severe handicaps. J Appl Behav Anal. 1990 Winter;23(4):515–524. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1990.23-515. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dyer K. The competition of autistic stereotyped behavior with usual and specially assessed reinforcers. Res Dev Disabil. 1987;8(4):607–626. doi: 10.1016/0891-4222(87)90056-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Fisher W. W., Thompson R. H., Piazza C. C., Crosland K., Gotjen D. On the relative reinforcing effects of choice and differential consequences. J Appl Behav Anal. 1997 Fall;30(3):423–438. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1997.30-423. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Fisher W., Piazza C. C., Bowman L. G., Hagopian L. P., Owens J. C., Slevin I. A comparison of two approaches for identifying reinforcers for persons with severe and profound disabilities. J Appl Behav Anal. 1992 Summer;25(2):491–498. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1992.25-491. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Foster-Johnson L., Ferro J., Dunlap G. Preferred curricular activities and reduced problem behaviors in students with intellectual disabilities. J Appl Behav Anal. 1994 Fall;27(3):493–504. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1994.27-493. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Green C. W., Reid D. H., Canipe V. S., Gardner S. M. A comprehensive evaluation of reinforcer identification processes for persons with profound multiple handicaps. J Appl Behav Anal. 1991 Fall;24(3):537–552. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1991.24-537. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Harding J., Wacker D. P., Cooper L. J., Millard T., Jensen-Kovalan P. Brief hierarchical assessment of potential treatment components with children in an outpatient clinic. J Appl Behav Anal. 1994 Summer;27(2):291–300. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1994.27-291. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kennedy C. H., Haring T. G. Teaching choice making during social interactions to students with profound multiple disabilities. J Appl Behav Anal. 1993 Spring;26(1):63–76. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1993.26-63. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Koegel R. L., Dyer K., Bell L. K. The influence of child-preferred activities on autistic children's social behavior. J Appl Behav Anal. 1987 Fall;20(3):243–252. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1987.20-243. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lancioni G. E., O'Reilly M. F., Emerson E. A review of choice research with people with severe and profound developmental disabilities. Res Dev Disabil. 1996 Sep-Oct;17(5):391–411. doi: 10.1016/0891-4222(96)00025-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mason S. A., McGee G. G., Farmer-Dougan V., Risley T. R. A practical strategy for ongoing reinforcer assessment. J Appl Behav Anal. 1989 Summer;22(2):171–179. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1989.22-171. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Pace G. M., Ivancic M. T., Edwards G. L., Iwata B. A., Page T. J. Assessment of stimulus preference and reinforcer value with profoundly retarded individuals. J Appl Behav Anal. 1985 Fall;18(3):249–255. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1985.18-249. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Parsons M. B., Reid D. H. Assessing food preferences among persons with profound mental retardation: providing opportunities to make choices. J Appl Behav Anal. 1990 Summer;23(2):183–195. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1990.23-183. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Parsons M. B., Reid D. H., Reynolds J., Bumgarner M. Effects of chosen versus assigned jobs on the work performance of persons with severe handicaps. J Appl Behav Anal. 1990 Summer;23(2):253–258. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1990.23-253. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Piazza C. C., Fisher W. W., Hagopian L. P., Bowman L. G., Toole L. Using a choice assessment to predict reinforcer effectiveness. J Appl Behav Anal. 1996 Spring;29(1):1–9. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1996.29-1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Smith R. G., Iwata B. A., Shore B. A. Effects of subject- versus experimenter-selected reinforcers on the behavior of individuals with profound developmental disabilities. J Appl Behav Anal. 1995 Spring;28(1):61–71. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1995.28-61. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Vaughn B. J., Horner R. H. Identifying instructional tasks that occasion problem behaviors and assessing the effects of student versus teacher choice among these tasks. J Appl Behav Anal. 1997 Summer;30(2):299–312. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1997.30-299. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis are provided here courtesy of Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

RESOURCES