Association for Behavior Analysis International

Identification of preferred stimuli is critical for effective intervention programs for individuals with disabilities. Direct preference assessments have been the gold standard for identification of preferred stimuli among individuals not capable of vocally expressing preferences. However, direct preference assessments are mostly commonly implemented to identify preferred tangible stimuli. In this symposium, we will present research regarding the advances in the assessment of preference for social stimuli and other novel stimuli. The first presentation will report results from an examination of preference for social interactions delivered by various social partners. The second presentation will describe the results from a study that evaluated two paired-choice presentation methods, video and picture, to identify preference for social stimuli. The third presentation will summarize the results of a study that examined preference for therapy animals. The final presentation will report the results from an examination of the degree to which video modeling influenced preference for initially low-preferred stimuli. The final discussion will summarize these studies, highlight the applied value of the results, and discuss future research.

Few studies to date have examined variations in preference that could arise when identical preference assessments are administered by unique social partners (Clay et al., 2012; Rapp, 2005). This study examines the contextual sensitivity and validity of social preference assessment results when the relationship of the participant with the assessor or "social partner" is varied. Three identical, forced choice (Fisher, et al., 1992) social preference assessments were conducted across three different social partners for a young adult man with Autism. Assessments were conducted with his mother, a regular staff member, and an unknown researcher. Results from the three preference assessments showed that he preferred unique social activities with his mother, the most familiar social partner, and different activities with the staff member and unknown researcher. Results from a follow-up reinforcer assessment showed that when social activities were contingently offered and compared, the participant had higher rates of responding when the uniquely selected social activity was delivered by the corresponding social partner. These results suggest that preference for social activities could vary based on the social partner delivering them. Implications for the validity of social preference assessments when administered by an individual who will not be delivering the social reinforcers and the strength of identified social reinforcers across different social partners.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) typically display deficits in social interaction and have restricted interests. Assessing preference for stimuli has been found to be valuable when determining reinforcers to be used in interventions to address these behavior deficits. Recent research suggests benefits of the presence of pets and therapy animals in social responding of children with ASD. It follows, therapy animals may be preferred and valuable as reinforcers in treatments for these children. However, preference for animals, and contingent access to animals to increase desired responding has not been clearly demonstrated in research. Six children ages 3-5 with ASD participated in this study. We assessed preference for, and reinforcing efficacy of a therapy animal (i.e., dog) in children with ASD. Results of this study thus far have revealed idiosyncratic preferences for the therapy animal. However, we have found preference has been a predictor of reinforcing efficacy for all participants.