Assessment of unreplenished vs. replenished reinforcer pools

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2014

First Committee Member

Karsten, Amanda

Second Committee Member

Graff, Richard

Third Committee Member

Roscoe, Eileen

Abstract

"Past research has not fully shed light on the likelihood and conditions under which people with autism spectrum disorders demonstrate restricted interests during stimulus preference assessments. This study will extend past research on preferences of children with autism by examining 1) participants’ preferences for unreplenished (familiar) play or leisure items versus items that are replenished frequently, 2) whether participants who prefer replenished items tend to select stimulus properties that are matched or unmatched to their most preferred unreplenished item, and 3) whether participants who show an exclusive preference for unreplenished items will select replenished items during response-restriction and enhanced-replenished pool manipulations. Preference for replenished and unreplenished items was assessed using a concurrent-chain assessment. One participant selected both unreplenished (familiar) items and replenished (novel) items without further manipulations. Following a response-restriction phase and an enhanced-replenished pool manipulation, the remaining three participants selected items matched to multiple stimulus properties of the most preferred unreplenished toy or activity. Results are discussed in terms of methods to identify a range of effective reinforcers for clients with autism, but especially individuals with a history of restricted interests."

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