Reinforcer Choice as an Antecedent Versus Consequence During Skill Acquisition

Abstract

Providing a choice of reinforcers is a commonly used strategy with children with autism spectrum disorder; however, less is known about the differential effectiveness and efficiency of providing choices before or after responding during acquisition tasks. Therefore, we evaluated reinforcer choice using untaught targets prior to and following responding. Results showed faster acquisition of targets in the consequence condition for 2 of 3 participants. These data provide preliminary support that providing choice prior to responding may not result in the most efficient acquisition for some individuals.