title: A comparison of two pairing procedures to establish praise as a reinforcer.
abstract: Some individuals with intellectual disabilities do not respond to praise as a reinforcer, which may limit their ability to learn. We evaluated 2 procedures (stimulus pairing and response-stimulus pairing), both of which involved pairing previously neutral praise statements with preferred edible items, to determine their usefulness in establishing praise as a reinforcer. Results of Study 1 indicated that stimulus pairing was not effective in conditioning praise as a reinforcer for 3 of 4 subjects; results were inconclusive for the 4th subject. Results of Study 2 indicated that response-stimulus pairing was effective in conditioning praise as a reinforcer for 4 of 8 subjects. After conditioning, praise also increased the occurrence of additional target responses for these 4 subjects.
authors: Applied Behavioral Science Department, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA. cdozier@ku.edu
authors: Claudia L
authors: CL
authors: Dozier
authors: Brian A
authors: BA
authors: Iwata
authors: Jessica
authors: J
authors: Thomason-Sassi
authors: April S
authors: AS
authors: Worsdell
authors: David M
authors: DM
authors: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001245:Association Learning; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology
keywords: conditioned reinforcement; praise; social reinforcement