THE RELATIVE MOTIVATIONAL PROPERTIES OF SENSORY AND EDIBLE REINFORCERS IN TEACHING AUTISTIC CHILDREN

TLDR

Sensory reinforcers are considered advantageous for teaching autistic children. The study compared sensory versus edible reinforcers on resistance to satiation during visual discrimination learning in three autistic children. Within‑subject designs compared single sensory to single edible reinforcers and multiple sensory to multiple edible reinforcers. Multiple sensory reinforcers sustained responding across more trials than multiple edibles, while single sensory and single edible reinforcers yielded comparable trials to satiation, and both sensory conditions produced higher correct response rates than edible reinforcers.

Abstract

We compared the effects of sensory and edible reinforcers on resistance to satiation in three autistic children while learning visual discrimination tasks. Within‐subject designs were used to compare a single sensory reinforcer with a single edible reinforcer and to compare multiple sensory reinforcers with multiple edibles. Results indicated that multiple sensory reinforcers maintained responding over more trials than did multiple edible reinforcers; however, the use of single sensory reinforcers and single edibles resulted in about equal numbers of trials to satiation. Both multiple and single sensory reinforcers produced higher percentages of correct responses than edible reinforcers. The findings are discussed in terms of the advantages of sensory reinforcers in teaching autistic children.