DeLeon I G, Iwata B A, Roscoe E M
University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, USA.
J Appl Behav Anal. 1997 Fall;30(3):475-84. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1997.30-475.
Identification of reinforcers for individuals with developmental disabilities is often based on the outcome of preference assessments in which participants make selections from among a variety of items. We determined the extent to which individuals might show a general preference for food items over leisure items during such assessments and whether leisure items that are "displaced" by food items might nevertheless function as reinforcers. Arrays consisting of food items only and then nonfood items only were presented separately to 14 participants and then were ranked to determined preference. The top selections from these initial assessments were subsequently combined in a third assessment, and preferences were again established. All but 2 participants showed a general preference for food items, such that selection of nonfood items in the combined arrays was displaced downward relative to selection of nonfood in the nonfood-only arrays. Two of the participants were exposed to a condition in which a nonfood item was delivered contingent on the occurrence of an adaptive response, and increased rates of responding by both individuals were observed. Results are discussed in terms of limitations posed by using only food items as reinforcers and the resulting need to take precautionary measures when attempting to identify nonfood reinforcers.
对发育障碍个体强化物的识别通常基于偏好评估的结果，即参与者从各种物品中进行选择。我们确定了在此类评估中个体对食物类物品相对于休闲类物品表现出总体偏好的程度，以及被食物类物品“取代”的休闲类物品是否仍可作为强化物。仅由食物类物品组成的阵列以及仅由非食物类物品组成的阵列分别呈现给14名参与者，然后进行排序以确定偏好。这些初始评估中排名靠前的选择随后在第三次评估中合并，并再次确定偏好。除2名参与者外，所有参与者都对食物类物品表现出总体偏好，因此在合并阵列中对非食物类物品的选择相对于仅包含非食物类物品的阵列中对非食物类物品的选择向下偏移。其中2名参与者接受了一种条件，即根据适应性反应的发生给予非食物类物品，观察到两人的反应率均有所提高。讨论了仅使用食物类物品作为强化物所带来的局限性，以及在试图识别非食物类强化物时采取预防措施的必要性。
