DeLeon, I. G., Iwata, B. A., Goh, H., & Worsdell, A. S. (1997).
Emergence of reinforcer preference as a function of schedule requirements and stimulus similarity.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
30, 439-449.
Tustin (1994) recently observed that an individual's preference
for one of two concurrently available reinforcers under low
schedule requirements (concurrent fixed-ratio [FR] 1) switched to
the other reinforcer when the schedule requirements were high
(concurrent FR 10). We extended this line of research by
examining preference for similar and dissimilar reinforcers
(i.e., those affecting the same sensory modality and those
affecting different sensory modalities). Two individuals with
develop mental disabilities were exposed to an arrangement in
which pressing two different panels produced two different
reinforcers according to progressively increasing,
concurrent-ratio schedules. When two dissimilar stimuli were
concurrently available (food and a leisure item), no clear
preference for one item over the other was observed, regardless
of the FR schedules in effect (FR 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20). By
contrast, when two similar stimuli were concurrently available
(two food items), a clear preference for one item emerged as the
schedule requirements were increased from FR 1 to FR 5 or FR 10.
These results are discussed in terms of implications for
conducting preference assessments and for selecting reinforcers
to be used under training conditions in which response
requirements are relatively high or effortful.
DESCRIPTORS: behavioral economics, preference, reinforcer
assessment