Which of the following are examples of preference assessments that behavior analysts might use to determine lists of appetitive stimuli?

• A. Multiple Free Pick Test (MFPT)
• B. Mixed Stimuli Assessment Battery (MSAB)
• C. Many Stimulus Replacement (MSR)
• D. Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement (MSWO)

Answer: (D)

Determining which items are most appealing to a learner helps identify potential reinforcers to use in teaching. The method that fits this goal best is the multiple-stimulus without replacement approach. In this procedure, several items are shown at the same time and the learner chooses one. After the choice, that item is removed, and the remaining items are presented again. This process is repeated until all items have been selected, producing a rank order of preferences from strongest to weakest. That ranked list of appetitive stimuli is exactly what a behavior analyst needs to decide which items to use as reinforcers during instruction.

The other labels don’t reflect a standard, widely used preference assessment for ranking stimuli, so they don’t provide the same directly obtainable hierarchy of preferred items.