Effects of Reinforcer Magnitude and Quality on Preference for Response-Reinforcer Arrangements in Young Children with Autism

The team worked with two preschoolers who had autism.

They let each child pick between two response-reinforcer setups.

One setup gave a tiny treat after many responses.

The other gave a big, better treat after every response.

The researchers then swapped the treat size and quality to see if the child’s choice flipped.

Both kids first liked the tiny-treat, intermittent setup.

When the treat was made bigger or tastier, both kids switched.

They now chose the continuous, every-response setup.

Better or bigger reinforcers flipped their preference fast.

Hoch et al. (2002) saw the same flip earlier.

They boosted treat size so three boys chose peer play instead of alone play.

Weston et al. (2020) extend the idea to token boards.

Kids worked faster when tokens piled up into one large payoff.

Loomis et al. (2026) show the flip sticks.

Six preschoolers kept loving books after rich, continuous praise ended.

Together the studies say: size and quality drive preference, not just the schedule.

If a child leans toward intermittent schedules, don’t accept it as fixed.

First try a bigger, better reinforcer for the continuous option.

A single session with a favorite snack or longer iPad turn can reset choice.

Once the child picks continuous, you can thin the schedule later.

Use this trick when you need steady, high-rate responding during teaching.