Assessing the Value of Choice in a Token System

Abstract

Responding of 4 children was assessed under conditions in which (a) no programmed contingencies were arranged for target behavior, (b) responding produced tokens that could be exchanged for a single highly preferred edible item, and (c) responding produced a token that could be exchanged for a variety of preferred edible items. After assessing the effects of these contingencies, the preferences of 3 participants were assessed using a concurrent-chains schedule. Preference for the opportunity to choose from the same or qualitatively different edible items varied across participants, and findings were generally consistent with those of Tiger, Hanley, and Hernandez (2006).