Reinforcer sampling: a technique for increasing the behavior of mental patients.

Staff made psychiatric inpatients briefly sample three reinforcers: a walk, a movie, and music time. After the short taste, patients could choose to keep using the items or skip them.

The team ran an ABAB design. They counted how many patients took each reinforcer and how long they stayed with it. Sampling was the only change between phases.

Forced sampling doubled or tripled the number of patients who later used each item on their own. Use stayed high even after sampling stopped.

Walks saw the biggest jump. Music held the smallest gain, but every reinforcer beat its baseline.

Rasmussen et al. (2006) extends the idea to classrooms. They gave kids teacher attention on a fixed-time schedule and saw disruptive talk drop. Both studies show that free, brief exposure to a reinforcer can reshape later behavior.

Madsen et al. (1968) used the same simple single-case logic in a first-grade room. Teacher praise cut disruption, mirroring how sampling boosted engagement. Same year, same positive pull of reinforcement.

Martin et al. (1997) later showed that even arbitrary reinforcers cut self-injury when delivered noncontingently. The 1968 paper plants the seed: first let the client taste the item, then the item gains power.

Before you write a token system or praise plan, let the learner sample the goods. A two-minute walk, a quick song clip, or a preview of a game can unlock later motivation without extra cost. Try it in intake, at the start of a new unit, or when reinforcers feel flat. One forced taste today can drive weeks of willing work.