Web‐based stimulus preference assessment and reinforcer assessment for videos

Curiel et al. (2019) ran a free online MSWO with five autistic adults. They dragged pictures of videos into boxes on a laptop to show what they liked most.

Next the team let each person watch their top pick for 30 seconds after pressing a button. They counted presses to see if the chosen clips really worked as reinforcers.

Four of the five adults pressed the button more for their top-ranked video than for lower picks. The web MSWO correctly predicted which clips would act as reinforcers.

One participant's top video did not increase responding, showing the extra reinforcer test step is still needed.

Curiel et al. (2025) extends the 2019 work. They swapped the MSWO for a paired-stimulus web tool and tested neurotypical college students. Thirteen of fifteen top picks still worked as reinforcers, showing the online idea holds across formats and populations.

Brodhead et al. (2019) conceptually replicates the finding without the internet. They showed kids short previews on a tablet but never let them watch the clips during the ranking. Even without that access, the video ranks still predicted reinforcers, proving the core idea is robust.

Duker et al. (1996) is the offline grandparent study. Their in-person choice test with toys first showed that high-preference items usually function as reinforcers. The 2019 paper simply moves that logic onto a web page and uses videos instead of toys.

You can now run a full preference and reinforcer check through any computer or tablet. This saves travel time, keeps data digital, and works for adults who are comfortable online. Try the free MSWO script in your next telehealth session, then quickly confirm the top video with a five-minute button-press test. If pressing stays high, you have a ready-made reinforcer for teaching tasks or reducing problem behavior.