Preference assessment training via self-instruction: A replication and extension

We examined the effects of a self-instructional and feedback package on participants' implementation of a paired-stimulus preference assessment. Specifically, in Experiment 1, we used a multiple baseline design across participants to replicate and extend the results of Graff and Karsten (2012) by evaluating the effectiveness of their self-instructional manual. A majority of the participants (i.e., 5 of 7 undergraduate students and 4 of 5 in-home behavior technicians) achieved mastery with the self-instructional package. The remaining participants met the mastery criterion after brief modeling and feedback sessions. In Experiment 2, we identified the most effective component of the feedback condition from Experiment 1 when a self-instructional package was not sufficient. Brief feedback sessions in which participants received a list of the targeted responses plus information regarding accuracy of emitted responses was sufficient for 5 of 6 participants to achieve mastery.