How to Select the Right Reinforcers for Effective Teaching

When teaching a child with an intellectual disability, one of the most important decisions an educator makes is choosing the right reinforcer. A reinforcer is only effective if it actually motivates the specific child to repeat a desired behavior – and that means there is no universal answer. What works brilliantly for one learner may do nothing for another. Selecting reinforcers, therefore, is far more than picking a reward from a list. It requires careful observation, individualization, practical judgment, and ongoing monitoring.

Why individualization is the starting point 🔗

The foundation of effective reinforcer selection is understanding the individual child. No assumptions should be made about what will reinforce a particular child – not even assumptions that apply to “most people.” What one child finds highly motivating, another may find completely indifferent, or even unpleasant. There is no one reinforcer that works for everyone. Every child is different, as are his or her preferences.

This is especially true for children with intellectual disabilities, whose sensory profiles, communication abilities, developmental levels, and life experiences vary widely. A child who loves music may be motivated by a brief song; another who dislikes auditory stimulation may find the same thing aversive. Social reinforcers – such as attention, approval, praise, and hugs – are powerful for some individuals, but ineffective or even aversive for others. This means educators cannot rely on a one-size-fits-all approach.

The key principle here is simple but critical: something is only a reinforcer if it actually increases the behavior it follows. A reward that does not change behavior is not functioning as a reinforcer, regardless of how appealing it seems to an adult.

Choosing age-appropriate reinforcers 🔗

Alongside individualization, age-appropriateness is a major consideration. When a child prefers and uses age-appropriate reinforcers, it is less conspicuous that reinforcement is being used, and peer acceptance in social settings is more likely. A teenager being rewarded with a toddler’s toy, for instance, may draw unwanted attention and undermine the child’s dignity and social standing.

When selecting a potential reinforcer, it is important to first consider things that are age-appropriate and natural to the situation. The best reinforcers are the least artificial items or activities that will still work to increase the behavior. For younger children, this might include sensory toys, small edibles, or short play activities. For older learners, it could mean privileges like choosing a classroom task, listening to preferred music, or earning extra computer time – rewards that fit naturally into their daily environment.

Age-appropriateness also supports the long-term goal of helping the child generalize behaviors to everyday settings. If a child prefers age-appropriate reinforcers, he or she is likely to encounter them naturally in the environment, making it easier to maintain behaviors beyond the structured teaching session.

How to identify the right reinforcers: preference assessments 🔗

Because reinforcer selection must be individualized, educators need a systematic way to discover what each child finds motivating. This is where preference assessments come in. A preference assessment is a systematic way of identifying the items, activities, or stimuli that motivate and engage a child – and it forms the backbone of informed reinforcer selection in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and special education.

The identification and use of individualized reinforcement play a key role in effective teaching, and preference assessments are the most direct method of finding those individualized reinforcers. There are several approaches educators can use.

Observation and indirect methods 🔗

The simplest starting point is direct observation. Direct observation is one of the most effective ways to identify potential reinforcers: What activities does the child often engage in? When given a choice, what does the child select? When left alone, what does the child play with? These naturalistic observations provide valuable clues without any formal testing.

Indirect methods also include interviewing caregivers, parents, and teachers about the child’s preferences. This is particularly useful when a child has limited communication skills. The information gathered is compiled into a list of candidate reinforcers that can then be tested directly.

Trial-based preference assessments 🔗

For a more structured approach, educators can use trial-based assessments that present items directly to the child and record responses. The single stimulus method – presenting one item at a time and observing the child’s reaction – is typically used for children who have difficulties choosing between two or more items. The paired stimulus method presents two items simultaneously, allowing the child to select their preferred option. The multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) method offers three or more items, and each chosen item is removed before the next selection, producing a clearer ranking of preferences.

It is worth noting that preference assessments and reinforcer assessments serve distinct purposes: preference assessments answer “What does the individual like?” whereas reinforcer assessments answer “Does this item or activity effectively reinforce the behavior?” Confirming that a preferred item actually increases the target behavior is the final step in validating a reinforcer.

Prioritizing availability and practicality in the classroom 🔗

Even the most perfectly individualized reinforcer is useless if it cannot be delivered promptly and consistently in a classroom setting. Practicality is a non-negotiable criterion in reinforcer selection. Whatever is finally selected, it is crucial that it is of great interest to the individual concerned and can be shown to increase any behavior that it regularly follows – and it works best when given after every occurrence of the behavior, at least at first.

Social reinforcers – praise, a smile, a thumbs-up, a high five – are the most convenient to deliver in any classroom context. They require no materials, no preparation, and can be given immediately. Praise and encouragement are the building blocks of emotional and social development for all children, and they are aligned with how motivation works in everyday life. For these reasons, social reinforcers are often considered the ideal default in teaching settings.

However, for children who do not yet respond to social praise – which is common among early learners and those with more significant intellectual disabilities – social reinforcers must be paired with more concrete rewards. Children who are less likely to value social praise should have social reinforcers paired with more valued primary reinforcers from the beginning; as the child becomes more motivated by social reinforcement, the primary reinforcer can be gradually faded.

When selecting practical reinforcers, educators should also consider sensory items, short activity breaks, edibles in small amounts, or access to a preferred toy for a few minutes. Sensory experiences can be powerful reinforcers, capturing attention and promoting focus – options like brief music, tactile toys, or sensory play can be very effective and are easily incorporated into a classroom routine. When edibles are used, they should be broken into small amounts, as it is easy for a child to become satiated on food, making them less motivating over time.

Monitoring and adapting to changing preferences 🔗

Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of reinforcer selection is that it is never a one-time task. A child’s preferences are not fixed – they shift with development, mood, satiation, and changing interests. Preferences can change over time, so ongoing assessment is essential for maintaining motivation and engagement.

Satiation is a key concept here. Reinforcer satiation can happen with anything – relying on a single reinforcer will lead it to lose its power quickly. A child who loves stickers today may be completely indifferent to them next week if they have been given out too freely or too frequently. This is why educators should maintain a varied menu of reinforcers for each child, rotating through them to keep novelty and motivation high.

To avoid satiation, a variety of reinforcers should be used and new ones should be introduced regularly. Deprivation – ensuring the child does not have free access to the reinforcer outside of the learning context – also helps maintain its value. A reinforcer that is available all the time loses its motivating power because there is no reason to work for it.

For clients with stable preferences, weekly or monthly preference assessments may be sufficient. For individuals whose interests change frequently, assessments may need to occur daily or even before individual sessions. Educators should also watch for behavioral signals that a reinforcer is losing its effect – reduced effort, increased off-task behavior, or declining response rates are all signs that it is time to reassess.

Involving caregivers in the process 🔗

Families and caregivers are a valuable source of information about a child’s changing preferences. They observe the child across settings and at different times of day, giving them insight that classroom observation alone cannot capture. Family education on the effective use of reinforcement has been found useful, particularly for teaching daily life skills to children with mild intellectual disabilities. Keeping families informed about which reinforcers are being used – and encouraging them to share observations about new preferences at home – strengthens consistency across environments and helps reinforce skills learned in the classroom.

Putting it all together: a practical framework 🔗

Selecting reinforcers for a child with an intellectual disability can be summarized in a straightforward process. Start by observing the child and gathering caregiver input to build an initial list of candidate reinforcers. Conduct a simple preference assessment to rank those items. Choose reinforcers that are both motivating for that individual child and practical to deliver in the teaching setting. Prioritize age-appropriate options wherever possible, and pair social reinforcers with more concrete rewards when needed. Then, critically, keep monitoring – rotate reinforcers regularly, watch for signs of satiation, and re-assess preferences as the child develops.

The best reinforcers are the least artificial activities or items that will still work to increase the behavior – and ultimately, the goal is to move toward naturally occurring reinforcers so that learning and positive behavior continue even when structured rewards are not in place.

What do you think? How do you currently identify and track what motivates your students – and what systems do you have in place to notice when a reinforcer has stopped working? If you work with a child who seems difficult to motivate, what steps would you take to broaden the range of reinforcers available to them?

References

1. https://www.intellectualdisability.info/mental-health/articles/behaviour-management
2. https://www.fau.edu/education/centersandprograms/card/documents/reinforcement.pdf
3. https://www.apsparks.com/articles/articles/15-rules-of-reinforcement-part-1/
4. https://www.relias.com/blog/preference-assessment-aba
5. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3592488/
6. https://goldencaretherapy.com/preference-assessment/
7. https://www.intellistarsaba.com/blog/how-to-use-reinforcer-assessments-to-enhance-aba-outcomes
8. https://specialedresource.com/positive-reinforcements-child-special-needs
9. https://asdtoddler.fpg.unc.edu/book/export/html/405.html
10. https://ensorahealth.com/blog/creative-reinforcer-ideas-for-preference-assessments-in-aba-therapy/
11. https://iidc.indiana.edu/irca/articles/reinforcement-in-the-classroom.html
12. https://autismclassroomresources.com/reinforcement-in-classroom_19/
13. https://hrmars.com/papers_submitted/3531/analysis-of-families-perceptions-on-reinforcement-usage-for-teaching-daily-life-skills-to-children-with-mild-intellectual-disabilities.pdf