An Examination of Generalized-Conditioned Reinforcers in Stimulus Preference Assessments

Abstract

Generalized-conditioned reinforcers (GCRs) are advocated for by practitioners when possible because of their ability to function as reinforcers across a wide array of motivative operations. In organizational behavior management 2 common GCRs are praise and money. Although many studies have demonstrated their usefulness, no prior study has compared relative preferences for GCRs (specifically money) and other potentially reinforcing items. A total of 24 direct care employees from a group home setting completed assessments for potential reinforcers. All participants in the current study identified items other than money as high-preference items, suggesting that some items may serve as alternatives to money in terms of preference.

Keywords:

• preference assessments
• generalized-conditioned reinforcers
• survey assessment
• ranking assessment

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Donald A. Hantula for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.