Comparing the use of video and pictorial stimuli in paired stimulus preference assessments

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2018

First Committee Member

Graff, Richard

Second Committee Member

Pinkston, Jonathan

Third Committee Member

Roscoe, Eileen

Abstract

"Video-based preference assessments have become more common over the past 5 years, and some researchers have speculated that video-based assessments may be more effective than pictorial assessments for identifying preferences for activities, because videos can capture movement, whereas pictures are static. Since previous studies have not directly compared the results of video and pictorial assessments, there is no data to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of video versus pictorial assessments. In this study, 4 individuals with developmental disabilities participated in 8-item tangible, pictorial, and video paired-stimulus preference assessments, using toys as stimuli. The duration to complete each modality of preference assessment was measured, and Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the degree of correspondence between assessment modalities. Then, reinforcer assessments were conducted to verify if high-preference stimuli functioned as reinforcers. For 3 of 4 participants, the pictorial and video assessments identified the same top-ranked item; for the 4th participant, the top-ranked item on the pictorial assessment ranked 3rd on the video assessment, while the top-ranked item on the video assessment ranked 5th on the pictorial assessment. Pictorial assessments were faster to conduct than video assessments for all participants. For the 3 participants whose pictorial and video preference assessments identified the same top-ranked item, subsequent reinforcer assessments indicated that these items functioned as reinforcers. The results of this study do not support previous speculations that video-based assessments may be more advantageous than pictorial assessments, since for 3 of 4 participants, pictorial and video assessments were equally effective, but pictorial assessments were more efficient."

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