Taylor E. Johnson & Mark R. Dixon.
Altering response chains in pathological gamblers using a response-cost procedure.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
42, 735-740.
The current study examined whether stimuli of different preference levels
would be associated with different amounts of work maintained by the
stimuli, as determined through progressive-ratio schedule break points.
Using a paired-choice preference assessment, stimuli were classified as
high, moderate, or low preference for 4 individuals with developmental
disabilities. The stimuli were then tested three times each using a
progressive-ratio schedule (step size of 1; the break-point criterion was 1
min). In 10 of 12 possible comparisons, higher preference stimuli produced
larger break points than did lower preference stimuli.
DESCRIPTORS: progressive-ratio schedules, reinforcer assessment, stimulus preference