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| Recent Advances in Preference Assessments |
| Monday, May 26, 2025 |
| 9:00 AM–9:50 AM |
| Marriott Marquis, M4 Level, Archives |
| Area: DDA/AUT; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Tracy Argueta (Marcus Autism Center, Emory School of Medicine) |
| Discussant: Samuel L Morris (Louisiana State University) |
| CE Instructor: Tracy Argueta, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: Preference assessments are a common tool for identifying putative reinforcers for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in both research and practice. Although there have been many advancements in preference assessment technology, preference assessments often have practical limitations (e.g., time consuming, do not provide a hierarchy) that impact their utility. The current symposium includes two presentations aimed at addressing some of the practical issues related to preference assessments. The first presentation reports on the correspondence between the results of a bracketed preference assessment (BPA) and a paired stimulus preference assessment (PSPA) completed by children with NDDs. The study also reports data on the relative efficiency of both assessments. The second presentation reports on the correspondence between duration and partial interval recording data collected by behavior analytic research assistants during free operant preference assessments conducted with children on the autism spectrum. Finally, the discussant will provide commentary on these studies and review potential implications. |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
| Keyword(s): measurement, preference assessments |
| Target Audience: Familiarity with the procedures as well as the advantages and disadvantages of free operant, paired stimulus, and multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessments.
Familiarity with duration and partial interval recording data and their advantages and disadvantages for data interpretation. |
Learning Objectives: 1. List the advantages and disadvantages of partial interval recording and duration recording during free operant assessments
2. List the advantages and disadvantages of paired stimulus preference assessments
3. Describe the bracketed preference assessments and how it compares to a paired stimulus preference assessment |
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| Evaluating a Bracketed Preference Assessment |
| Mackenzie Rae Fowler (University of North Carolina Wilmington), Caeli Virginia Cormier (University of Florida), Iser Guillermo DeLeon (University of Florida), TRACY ARGUETA (Marcus Autism Center, Emory School of Medicine), Prerana Atreya (EvalGroup) |
| Abstract: Paired stimulus preference assessments (PSPA) can establish clear preference hierarchies but can be time-consuming. As an alternative, we evaluated a bracketed preference assessment (BPA) modeled after double-elimination tournament brackets and designed to potentially reduce assessment duration while producing a hierarchy of top stimuli. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the correspondence between and relative efficiency of a BPA and a PSPA at with children on the autism spectrum or diagnosed with related neurodevelopmental disorders. We analyzed item selection (percentages and rankings), assessment duration, and Spearman rank correlations. Results indicated that the top stimulus from the BPA remained the top stimulus in the PSPA for some participants and remained in the top three stimuli across both assessments for most participants. Additionally, Spearman rank correlations were generally greater than .6 and, on average, the BPA was briefer than the PSPA. These results suggest the BPA may be a viable alternative to PSPAs and implications of these results will be discussed. |
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Comparing Duration and Partial Interval Recording During Free Operant Preference Assessments |
| BROOKE FRANKS-JACOBUCCI (University of North Carolina Wilmington), Christy Louis (Georgia State University), Darko Cabo (Georgia State University), Daniel E Conine (Georgia State University), Tracy Argueta (Marcus Autism Center, Emory School of Medicine), Catherine Williams (University of North Carolina Wilmington), Sarah Slocum (Marcus Autism Center and Emory School of Medicine) |
| Abstract: Free-operant preference assessments rank engagement with potential reinforcers in an unrestricted environment. Data for these assessments are commonly collected using either continuous or discontinuous measures, but it is unclear which measure results in more reliable data. This study compared the results of free-operant preference assessments between data collected using partial-interval and duration measures. Specifically, we investigated a) agreement of the highest-preferred items between measures b) correlation between all rankings across measures c) interobserver agreement for each system, and d) whether outcomes varied across 5-, 10-, and 15-min assessment durations. Participants were trained observers who each scored recordings of 10 free-operant preference assessments. They scored each assessment twice, once using duration and once using partial-interval recording. They collected duration data by recording the total duration that the individual interacted with an item. They scored partial-interval data by recording whether the individual interacted with each during any part of a 10-sec interval. Findings suggest ranking of potentially reinforcing items is similar across partial interval and duration methods of collecting data in a free-operant preference assessment. Agreement between both measures increased as the duration of the assessment increased. Additionally, we found notable differences in assessment outcome as a function of assessment duration. |
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