This study found that, compared to measuring approach behaviors to a variety of stimuli, a forced-choice stimulus preference assessment used with four young children with severe mental retardation resulted in greater differentiation among stimuli and better predicted which stimuli would result in higher levels of responding when presented…

A choice assessment was used to categorize reinforcers as high, middle, and low preference with 4 males (ages 7 to 19) with multiple disabilities including severe/profound mental retardation. High-preference stimuli consistently functioned as reinforcers for all subjects whereas low-preference stimuli did not function as reinforcers. (Author/DB)