Preference Assessments in Applied Behavior Analysis
This assignment is being submitted on June 17, 2015
The Origins, Evolution, and Future of
Preference Assessments in Applied Behavior Analysis
Article objective and analysis: The article thesis is centered on preference assessment of individuals with severe and profound cerebral disabilities, those who are the least-functioning fragment of the total population suffering from mental retardation and intellectual disability (Hamilton, 2012). This segment of mentally retarded is characteristically diagnosed with major or total inability to efficiently converse, consequently they are unable to articulate their preference to the respective caretakers (Hamilton, 2012). Hence the article compares earlier research conducted in this field to determine their relative effectiveness over precise results attained in preference assessment of such subjects.
Article summary: The author has assimilated the relative results analyzed after preference assessment of single stimuli and multiple stimuli based experiment, conducted over severely disabled subjects. The article has confirmed multiple stimuli based preference assessment approach being more reinforced in earlier studies’ results, however, the major chunk of disabled patients are still not effectively assessed in their preferences, owing to their inability to effectively communicate. A germane success prospect of successful analysis of preferences is evident in the application of multiple stimulus based coexisting chains , when applied over disabled subjects .This research is presumed to be remarkable growth, as the innate traits of disabled individuals to speak their favored personal styles cannot be ignored. The article concludes with a statement that still the studies have not achieved the desired results of assessments in all the cases of profoundly disabled and there exists enough scope to expand enhanced methods of functional behavioral assessment via more competent assessment techniques. This future scope is explained in hope to apply the usefulness of progressive-ratio reinforced process of preference assessment, to be applied in case of subjects who are not able to communicate their preferences.
References
Rech, Hamilton (2012), "The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Preference Assessments in Applied Behavior Analysis" Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Paper no. 282. http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/gs_rp/282
