How to Identify What Reinforcers Behaviors:
A review of "I Know What I Like, Do You?" by Travis Blevins, MS, BCBA
Is preference important? In one word, YES! The identification of motivating reinforcers (preferences individuals will work to get) can be the key to effective intervention for individuals with emotional, developmental and behavioral difficulties.
Why? In the words of Susan B. Anthony, "Independence is happiness." The pursuit of a meaningful independent life involves these reinforcers, for you, for me, for our kiddos. Our goal as therapists, parents, teachers, and the like should be to assist those individuals in acquiring those preferences, those motivating reinforcers in a safe and healthy way.
First, let's begin by discussing what NOT to do when identifying a child's preference...
- Don't just ask them for a list
- Don't just ask someone who knows them
- Don't just guess
- Don't just watch them
- Don't assume what one child's preferences are relate to another's
Identifying things that motivate people is a science. In fact there's an assessment that behavioral analysts use called "Preference Assessment" or "Reinforcer Assessment." However, there are ways that one can identify the preferences of another using careful tactics and observations.
- Watch the person on multiple occasions
- Depict how they choose to spend their time
- Be aware of what they have access to and what they don't have access to as this might impact the observation
- Allow the child to choose between a combination of preferred and not preferred activities or objects
- Introduce novel activities, consumables, items and people
- Be aware that some activities, items, and people may change the preference for something
- Be creative, you will be surprised by what you find out when you go beyond the typical preferences of children
Specific questions for interviewing:
- What would you do with a million dollars?
- Would you go a whole week without video games to get that?
- What is it about this that you enjoy?
- What is the best thing you have ever eaten?
- Describe your perfect day?
- How do they spend their time?
- How do they spend their money?
- What do they do in their free time?
- Have they ever (fill in the preference item)?
- Describe the perfect day for them?
- What does a day look like without any behaviors?
What if they don't like anything?
- Expose them to new fun things, places, food, people that they have not seen before, then ask if they want to do that again
- Remember that limited exposure to these things will decrease the preference pool, it is your job to increase their pool, increase their exposure
- Sometimes an individual has a preference for complaining about what they don't like--In other words, they LIKE being listened to by a sympathetic and empathetic ear
- Be aware of non-tangibles such as attention giving
Now what? Now that you know what is liked, help the child obtain it in a safe and healthy way. Enrich their life by teaching appropriate and positive behaviors to get what they like. It is your job to bridge free access to preferences so they have to work for it, even if that just means appropriately requesting the preferred item. It is also important to provide additional motivation for new behaviors.
What does the research say? Just because you have identified a preference does not mean that preference will motivate. The best way to identify preferences is to put it to the test!
What's our goal:
- To enrich every person's life by providing opportunities to experience fun new things
- To teach more appropriate ways of communicating needs and wants
- To support each person in attaining as much independence as they can handle, that means phasing prompts and yourself out so they can be independent
For more information on assessing preferences, please email us at info@gardencolorado.org.
Until next time, BLOSSOM!
Lauren Thome, MA
