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THE EFFECT OF REINFORCER PREFERENCE ON FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OUTCOMES
Author(s) -
Lalli Joseph S.,
Kates Kelly
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1901/jaba.1998.31-79
Subject(s) - reinforcement , psychology , preference , developmental psychology , functional analysis , clinical psychology , cognitive psychology , social psychology , statistics , biochemistry , chemistry , gene , mathematics
We combined functional analyses and concurrent‐schedule assessments to identify reinforcer preference during situations in which problem behavior may have been multiply controlled. Participants were 3 children with developmental delays who engaged in problem behavior during toy play with another child and one adult present, suggesting that problem behavior may have been maintained by adult attention or access to tangible reinforcement. Thus, conditions were designed to test attention and access‐to‐toys hypotheses. Initial functional analyses suggested multiple control. Subsequent concurrent‐schedule assessments identified preference between the reinforcers, and treatments were based on these findings. Findings are discussed regarding the assessment of potentially multiply controlled problem behavior.