A Survey of Why and How Clinicians Change Reinforcers during Teaching Sessions.

Unlabelled: Preference assessments are used to make data-based decisions about which stimuli to use as reinforcers but they can be challenging to conduct frequently enough to avoid problems related to momentary shifts in preference and reinforcer efficacy. It remains unclear whether, why, and how clinicians change reinforcers on a momentary basis. Therefore, this study aimed to determine common reasons for, and methods of, changing reinforcers in practice. Most respondents indicated that they often change reinforcers during a session, do so when the client mands for or attends to different stimuli or refuses the current stimulus, and identify the new reinforcer based on recent client behaviors (e.g., mands) or by providing an informal choice between stimuli. Responses did not vary meaningfully based on respondent credentials, client characteristics, or service goals. Implications for clinical practice as well as future research on methods of momentary preference assessment and reinforcer identification are discussed.

Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40617-023-00847-4.