Preference interview and checklist

In order to begin determining what may serve as reinforcement for a student, it will be wise to seek out the opinion of people who are familiar with the child’s behavior and interests. Remember that when we first conduct a preference assessment we do not know if preferred items will serve as reinforcers. We can only identify reinforcers when we see how presentation of the item or event alters the frequency of the behavior it follows. Our hope is that what we identify as preferences will indeed later serve as reinforcers that can be used to teach mand behavior.

A preference assessment can be accomplished by asking in an interview what items are preferred by the individual or by having a person familiar with the individual complete a written preference inventory.

Common preference inventories usually assess a range of possible items and activities a student enjoys across a variety of categories. The inventory can be administered through an interview or having them fill out the checklist.

Categories Commonly Included on Preference Assessments

• Consumable items such as food and drinks
• Tangible items such as various toys and materials
• Activities that involve movement
• Games
• Electronic media such as TV, computer
• Various forms of social interaction
• Music
• Preferred dramatic themes and characters

Remember that no matter how thorough of a preference assessment is completed, there may be certain events that can serve as reinforcers that are not represented on the inventory. In many circumstances it will be prudent to explore the effectiveness of events not included on the inventory as reinforcers.

Observation

A second way of determining what items and events will serve as reinforcement is through direct observation.

You can structure an observation of a child’s preference by recording how often the child approaches various items, how quickly he approaches the item once it is seen, and how long he remains engaged with the item. During such observations one should note how the item was presented to the student and any situational variables that might have influenced the child’s response to the item such variables related to motivation (i.e., deprivation, presentation of other stimuli that made the item more valuable, etc.)

Formal Stimulus Preference Assessments

There will be cases when we cannot determine from an interview or observation which items may serve as reinforcers. In such circumstances we will need to further structure the stimulus preference assessment by using procedures to systematically present stimuli and carefully note the student’s response.

There are several basic ways to accomplish a stimulus preference assessment. These techniques share a common method in that they rely on determining if a child will approach or use an object when it is presented. They include:

• presenting one object to the student at a time
• presenting two objects to the student at a time (forced choice format)
• and presenting multiple objects to the student at a time

These different formats provide different kinds of information about the student's preferences.

• The single item presentation allows us to tell whether that item by itself without comparison to other items is valuable.
• The forced choice format allows us to make multiple comparisons of which items are preferred in relation to others and to eventually identify a hierarchy of preferences.
• The multiple object format allows us to determine which of many items available at one time will be valuable

Note that several data sheets with instructions for completing the various types of preference assessments are included in the appendices of this manual.