Language preference and reinforcing efficacy of praise in bilingual children with disabilities.
Clay, Casey J;Bloom, Sarah E;Slocum, Timothy A;Samaha, Andrew L;Callard, Chase H;
journal of applied behavior analysis2019
213
clay2019languagejournal
Abstract
We conducted a stimulus preference assessment to identify preference for praise delivered in English versus Spanish for bilingual students. Next, a concurrent-operant reinforcer assessment was used to evaluate the reinforcer efficacy of praise in each language. Participants showed limited to no preference for one language over another. One participant showed a slight preference for Spanish praise and Spanish praise functioned as a slightly more potent reinforcer. If a participant did not prefer a specific language of praise (i.e., undifferentiated preference or equal percentage of approaches), both languages were considered to be similarly reinforcing.