A systematic review of research on stability of preference assessment outcomes across repeated administrations
Re-test paired preference assessments every 8–30 days to keep reinforcer choices reliable.
01Research in Context
What this study did
MacNaul and team read every paper that re-tested preferences two or more times. They found 29 studies with 104 separate do-overs. Most kids had autism or other developmental delays.
They asked two simple questions. How often did the top pick stay the top pick? And what made that number go up or down?
What they found
Preferences stayed stable only 60 % of the time. But two tricks helped. Re-test every 8–30 days, not sooner or later. Use paired-stimulus (two-item) format, not big arrays.
With both tricks in place, stability jumped to 80 %. Longer gaps, single-stimulus, or MSWO formats all made picks drift more.
How this fits with other research
Rojahn et al. (1994) already showed paired format beats group methods for reliability. The new review adds a time rule: repeat the paired test every 1–4 weeks for best upkeep.
Bigwood et al. (2026) extends the idea to adults with dementia. They kept the paired format but slowed the pace and watched smiles. Item choices stayed the same, proving the paired trick works across ages and diagnoses.
No true clash appears. Papers that look shaky used wider test gaps or different formats, exactly what the review flags as risk factors.
Why it matters
Stop running monthly preference marathons. Pick the top two items, ask the client to choose, and circle back in two weeks. You will spend less session time and keep reinforcers truly reinforcing.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
AbstractA key component to any successful intervention aimed at increasing appropriate behavior for individuals with disabilities is the identification of potential reinforcers (Verriden & Roscoe, 2016). Preference assessments allow for the identification of specific preferred items for each individual; however, little is known about the stability of preference over time. The purpose of this review was to synthesize results from 20 studies that conducted two or more preference assessments, at least 24 h apart, and analyze the stability of preference assessment outcomes across repeated assessment administrations. This paper investigated the impact of the inter‐assessment interval (IAI; i.e., how often assessments were conducted), preference assessment format, and stimulus type (i.e., leisure items/activities, edibles, social interaction) on the stability of preference assessment outcomes. Results suggest that, across repeated administration, preference is most stable at brief IAIs (8–30 days) and when using the paired‐stimulus format (Fisher et al., 1992). Implications for practitioners and future research are discussed.
Behavioral Interventions, 2021 · doi:10.1002/bin.1797