By Matt Harrington, BCBA · Behaviorist Book Club · Research-backed answers for behavior analysts
Presession attention refers to the amount of social contact and interaction a learner receives before a formal instruction session begins. It matters because attention functions as a reinforcer for many verbal operants, including tacts and intraverbals. When a child receives high amounts of attention before a session, the reinforcing value of therapist-delivered attention during instruction may be reduced through satiation. This can slow acquisition rates even when the instructional procedure itself is sound. Recognizing presession attention as a motivating operation helps BCBAs interpret variable acquisition data and design more responsive programming.
Motivating operations (MOs) are environmental events that temporarily alter both the reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus and the frequency of behavior that produces that stimulus. Presession attention functions as an abolishing operation when it is abundant — it reduces the value of additional attention as a reinforcer during the session. Conversely, presession attention deprivation functions as an establishing operation, increasing the reinforcing value of therapist attention. This MO framework explains why acquisition of attention-maintained verbal operants is faster following attention deprivation and slower following attention satiation.
Verbal operants that are primarily maintained by social attention and approval are most susceptible to presession attention effects. Tacts and intraverbals are the focus of the Cengher and Fienup research, but any verbal operant whose reinforcing consequence involves therapist social contact — praise, enthusiastic attention, animated responses — would be subject to the same satiation dynamics. Mands maintained by access to specific tangibles or activities are less likely to be affected by presession attention because the maintaining reinforcer is not social attention.
BCBAs can assess presession conditions through several practical methods. A brief caregiver interview at session start asking about the child's morning social environment takes two to three minutes and provides useful context. Structured observations in the waiting area can indicate how much caregiver-child social interaction has occurred before the session. Some programs use a simple presession rating (high/low attention) logged by the caregiver on arrival. Over time, pairing this variable with within-session acquisition data allows BCBAs to determine whether presession attention is a meaningful predictor for a given learner.
Yes, and this is one of the most clinically actionable insights from this research. When a child's performance on tact or intraverbal trials varies significantly from session to session without any change to the instructional procedure, presession conditions are a candidate explanation. BCBAs who routinely search for instructional explanations for variability may be overlooking ecological factors. Adding presession attention as a tracked variable in the data system allows practitioners to analyze whether high-attention presession days correlate with slower within-session acquisition, providing objective evidence for MO effects.
The study used a within-subject reversal design for Experiment 1 (tacts) and an alternating treatment design for Experiment 2 (intraverbals). Both are rigorous single-case experimental designs that allow for functional analysis of the relationship between presession attention conditions and acquisition outcomes within individual participants. These designs are particularly well-suited to ABA research because they demonstrate experimental control at the level of the individual learner rather than relying on group-level statistics, which aligns with the idiographic focus of applied behavior analysis.
RBT training on this topic should cover the basic concept of motivating operations and provide concrete, observable examples. Teaching RBTs that the same reinforcer can have different effectiveness at different times — and that presession history is one reason why — helps them interpret within-session motivation more accurately. RBTs should be trained to note and report presession conditions as part of their session documentation. BCBAs should include a specific question about the child's presession social context in their regular supervision sessions and review how presession conditions may be contributing to the data patterns observed.
If a BCBA designs a presession attention deprivation or satiation protocol as part of a clinical program, informed consent requirements apply under Code 2.11 of the BACB Ethics Code. Families should understand the rationale, the procedures involved, and the expected outcomes. A presession restriction on caregiver interaction in the waiting area — even if brief and benign — should not be implemented without explanation. The ethical obligation is transparency: families who understand the motivating operation rationale are generally receptive to these procedures, and consent ensures the therapeutic relationship is built on shared understanding.
The theoretical mechanism — motivating operations altering reinforcer effectiveness — applies broadly across populations. Presession attention effects on skill acquisition would be expected in any learner for whom social attention is a meaningful reinforcer and whose verbal behavior programming relies on that attention as a consequence. This includes adults with intellectual disabilities, individuals in vocational training, and learners in educational settings more broadly. The practical application may differ across contexts, but BCBAs working with diverse populations should recognize that presession satiation effects are not unique to pediatric autism programs.
Functional behavior assessment (FBA) literature has long documented the role of presession satiation in problem behavior. Studies manipulating presession access to attention, preferred items, and activities before analogue functional analysis conditions have shown that presession variables shift the function-based patterns observed within the assessment. The Cengher and Fienup work extends this logic from problem behavior to skill acquisition, demonstrating that the same antecedent manipulation that affects the topography of challenging behavior also affects the efficiency of verbal skill learning. This integration strengthens the argument for consistent MO assessment across all areas of ABA practice.
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.