Establishing praise as a conditioned reinforcer: Pairing with one versus multiple reinforcers

The team worked with five autistic children in an ABA clinic.

They wanted to see if praise becomes a stronger reinforcer when it is paired with one backup reinforcer or with four different ones.

Sessions used an ABAB design: first one reinforcer, then four, then one again, then four.

Three of the five children responded faster and more often when praise had been paired with four reinforcers.

The other two showed little difference, but no child did better with the single-reinforcer pairings.

More pair partners made praise more powerful.

Sainsbury et al. (2024) extends this idea. They used brief discrimination training instead of pairing and still turned neutral praise into a reinforcer, but the effect faded without booster sessions.

Jason et al. (1985) foreshadowed the multi-reinforcer edge. They showed that rotating several sensory reinforcers kept autistic children working longer before satiation hit, much like multiple pairings here strengthened praise.

Milo et al. (2010) look similar but focus on variety within trials, not during conditioning. They found that varied edible reinforcers outperformed the same item each time, lining up with the "more is better" theme.

You can turn praise into a real reinforcer without carrying extra snacks or toys. Pick four backup items the child already likes—maybe bubbles, tickles, a favorite song, and a bite of cookie. Pair each one with enthusiastic praise across a few short sessions. Once the data show a jump in responding, fade the backups and let praise do the work. Rotate the four items again if the effect weakens. This gives you a portable, parent-friendly reinforcer that never runs out.