Assessing preference for types of social interaction
A five-minute video test tells you which social game will work as a reinforcer for kids with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a five-minute tool called SIPA. It shows kids short clips of different social games.
Five children with autism watched the clips. They touched the screen to pick their favorite game.
The researchers then tested if the chosen game really worked as a reinforcer during work tasks.
What they found
Every child picked one game more than the others. That game also worked as a strong reinforcer.
SIPA took only five minutes and gave clear answers for all five kids.
How this fits with other research
Morris et al. (2020) ran SIPA again and got the same result. They warn to repeat the test before treatment because favorites can shift.
Kamlowsky et al. (2025) looked at the same question a different way. They paired toys with or without an adult. Social presence boosted toy value, backing up SIPA’s core idea.
Jerome et al. (2008) did an earlier version with adults. They used button pressing for staff chat. SIPA updates that work for young kids with autism.
Why it matters
You now have a fast, kid-friendly way to find social reinforcers. Run SIPA before teaching play, social, or group skills. Pick the top game and use it right away to strengthen learning. If progress slows, run SIPA again to catch any new favorite.
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Join Free →Show your client three 10-second clips of different social games, let them tap the favorite, and use that game as the reinforcer in the next teaching trial.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
To date, few researchers have evaluated methods for assessing preference for social interactions. Due to concerns that commonly used stimulus preference assessment methods may be inappropriate, or at least cumbersome, for the assessment of social reinforcers, we developed and evaluated a new method of assessing preference for social interactions. A social interaction preference assessment (SIPA) and a concurrent operant reinforcer assessment were conducted with five participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A differentially preferred and reinforcing social interaction was identified for all five participants. The SIPA procedures, results, and the implications of these results are discussed.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2019 · doi:10.1002/jaba.597