Displacement and undervaluation of healthful foods by snack foods in preference assessments and caregiver surveys

Document Type

Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis

Date Completed

2014

First Committee Member

Karsina, Allen

Second Committee Member

Hanley, Gregory

Third Committee Member

Roscoe, Eileen

Abstract

"Identification of edible reinforcers for individuals with autism often relies on the results of caregiver surveys and/or direct observation preference assessments. Previous research has demonstrated that the stimulus array can affect preference assessment outcomes, as when inclusion of edibles in the assessment array results in fewer selections of the same leisure items than when only leisure items are in the array (DeLeon, Iwata, & Roscoe, 1997). In the current study, we evaluated participant preference for 8 healthful and 8 snack foods for 6 participants (diagnosed with autism) using healthful and snack paired-stimulus (PS) preference assessments. The reliability of each assessment’s outcomes was determined by replicating each set of foods at least 2 times until a Pearson product-moment coefficient of .6 or higher was attained. The top 4 highest preference foods from the healthful and snack assessments were combined in a third set of PS preference assessments. Surveys were presented to 1 participant’s caregivers, who were asked to rank each food and indicate its reinforcer potential for the participant using a 7- point Likert-type scale. Reinforcer assessments were conducted for 2 participants to evaluate the absolute and relative reinforcing effects of all 16 foods (1 participant) or the 8 combined foods (1 participant). Results showed a displacement of preference outcomes for healthful foods when snack foods are present, but that the healthful foods typically functioned as effective reinforcers in the absence of snack foods. Direct observation rankings also correlated more closely to reinforcer assessment results than caregiver survey rankings."

This document is available upon request to Western New England University faculty, students, and staff. Please contact D'Amour Library at for access.

Share

COinS