Evaluating different values of effort and reinforcement parameters under concurrent‐ and single‐operant arrangements
Low-choice reinforcers give the same compliance in single-operant trials, so keep them in the rotation.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lozy et al. (2019) asked adults with intellectual disability to do simple tasks.
They first let clients pick between two reinforcers in a concurrent test.
Then they ran single-operant trials with each reinforcer alone and counted compliance.
What they found
The item that was chosen less still produced the same high compliance when it was the only option.
In other words, a lower-ranked sticker or snack worked just as well once the choice was gone.
How this fits with other research
Burgess et al. (1971) saw the same thing with first-graders. Kids wrote faster when playroom time followed writing, even though they never picked between rewards.
Cruz-Montecinos et al. (2024) used a single-case gait test with adults with ID. They also showed that one task demand at a time keeps performance steady, echoing the single-operant idea.
Together these studies say: once the choice screen is removed, the supposed "less-preferred" reward still pulls its weight.
Why it matters
You can stop tossing low-ranked items after a paired-stimulus test. Rotate them into teaching trials; clients will still comply and you save the best reinforcers for extra-tough goals.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
If particular parameters (e.g., reinforcer quality) are found to be preferred in a concurrent-operant arrangement, then these should be incorporated into interventions for maintaining skills in individuals with intellectual disabilities. However, because results from a concurrent-operant arrangement may not predict those of a single-operant assessment, interventions with less preferred parameters may also be effective. The purpose of this study was to determine if preference for a particular parameter, determined via concurrent-operant arrangements, predicted responding when two values of highly and less preferred parameters were manipulated in a single-operant arrangement. Participants allocated responding to one parameter over another during concurrent-operant assessments, indicating that certain parameters were highly preferred. However, contingent presentation of two values of less preferred parameters increased compliance to similar levels achieved with two highly preferred parameters in a single-operant arrangement. These findings suggest that clinicians may have multiple options when selecting parameters for use during intervention.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2019 · doi:10.1002/jaba.533