Teaching Joy: Why Reinforcer Variety Matters
The less we have in way of quality reinforcers, the less happier we are.
Kids are the same way. And, sadly, many of our kiddos only engage with a few preferred items, activities, or edibles.
Kids with only a couple reinforcers are living in a fragile world. One dead iPad battery and the whole house comes down. When you only have one or two things that bring you joy—and they vanish—it’s not just inconvenient. It’s distressing. The good news is that this is a problem we can actually fix. But we need to stop oversimplifying things. No, it’s not as simple as pairing. No, it’s not as simple as teaching more programming or more communication.
We have to reward the learner for engaging in explorational, experiential behavior. Specifically rewarding these new behaviors with new items and new activities that bring forth potential new and preferred stimulation. When you expand a child’s experiences with new reinforcers, you're not just helping them behave better. You're giving them a happier life.
It’s important to note that, reinforcer expansion isn’t just about handing a kid a new toy and hoping they like it. That’s called guessing. What we’re really doing here is teaching exploration. We’re reinforcing curiosity. Building in the skill of pivoting—from the Hot Wheels track to the play kitchen. From the train to the xylophone. And yeah, they might still love their Hot Wheels…but now, they have options. When we’ve increased a child’s "options”, we’ve increased their joy. Now, just maybe, the meltdowns shrink, the potential for socialization through play increases, and they start doing something beautiful: engaging in the world around them.
None of this happens without intention. We don’t just "pair" ourselves with reinforcers and call it a day. We start there, though. Getting to the point where we can work to expand a learner’s experience comes in phases.
Phase one is simple: be there. No demands, no prompting, no talking, just shadowing. You’re a couch. A friendly ghost. Present and non-threatening. Then we talk. A little social praise here, a “Whoa! Look at that car!” there. If the kid likes it, we build. If not, we dial it back. Then we add physical interaction—if, and only if, they like it. Noogies, gentle pats on the back, whatever works.
Phase two? Make their world better. Watch where their eyes, hands, and feet go, and beat them to the punch. In fact, get really good at reading their attention. Attention and motivation are hand in hand. They look at a toy on a shelf—grab the toy. They reach or run across the room toward the yoga ball—bring it to them. Your job is to reduce effort and add value. Bring variety, bring choice. If they love goldfish crackers, bring fruit snacks too. If they are playing with cars, but you know that they also love trains…bring the trains too. That’s how you become the person who brings the good stuff. Look to add to the experience. Again, no demands.
Then we move into Phase three—sharing the space. Now, the focus goes beyond observing and adding to the experience. It becomes about joining it…ever so slightly. They’re playing with the train? You gently touch the train. They’re playing in the bin of kinetic sand? You play in that sand too. Maybe even say, “Wanna try this Hot Wheels track too?” This is the gentle ask. Not a demand, not an instruction—just an invitation. And if they say no? Cool. Keep going.
Phase four is the pivot phase. Here, we get fancy. We ask the learner to do one thing with a secondary reinforcer—while still holding onto their favorite.
To understand pairing, exploration, and reinforcement with kids who have only a few reinforcers, you have to understand something crucial. These few items or activities are more valuable than you think. And leaving these items and activities in any capacity is more punitive than you think.
I use the hot tub analogy.
Kids turn to these items not simply for the sake of fun…but for control and comfort. Similar to us sitting in a hot tub. It’s insanely comforting. For kids interrupting a reinforcing activity is like asking us to get out of a hot tub to run a marathon in the snow.
So, in phase four, we begin gentle interruptions…but while they’re in the hot tub (figuratively…not literally). They stay comfortable while expanding their comfort zone.
For example, while they are playing in the kinetic sand, we may ask them to touch or perform an easy action with a favorite, highly valued toy. We allow them to stay engaged with the highly preferred item (in this case the sand). Then we might have them gently touch or perform an action(s) with a neutral or novel toy.
It’s not until NOW…deep into the fourth phase that removal happens.
Here, we start gently removing the favorite for just a split second. “Hit the xylophone, then you get the train back.” Just one touch. Then one action. Then two. Then maybe 10 seconds of play. And slowly, their world gets bigger.
Here is where things go haywire. It’s here that many very good behavior analysts stop the pairing process and start the programming process. But it’s this next phase, Phase five, where we can truly make a kiddo’s life more joyful.
Phase five is where we truly introduce and reward exploration. The holy grail. This is when we teach kids how to look around and say, “Okay, what else can I do?” In this phase we try to reward them for moving on and engaging in prolonged actions with other activities. So, let’s say the train is removed. We might present an array of high value and/or neutral value toys. And instead of panicking? They poke around. They touch a few of these toys. They explore. And, boom, the train comes back. And that, my friends, is the win. That’s the behavior we’re reinforcing—not compliance, not obedience, but curiosity. The ability to make your own fun. To find something new and engage with it (even if it’s for a second). From here, we might increase the number of response effort. Maybe the array is across the room now. Maybe it’s in the toy box. Maybe they don’t simply need to touch the items, but they need to engage in 2-3 actions with them. And, this is when the miracle’s start to happen. A peer comes over and wants to play too. Or they engage in a novel toy. Or, you bring back that train (or whatever high value item that was removed) and they don’t play with it right away because they like some of the other toys.
If a kid can do that? They’re not just easier to teach. They’re freer. They’re more joyful. Life is better. Isn’t that the whole point?
PS: I have a skill area dedicated to teaching Reinforcer/Preference Expansion with over 30 different steps—each broken down—at bxmastery.com
Martin Myers is a BCBA with a passion for helping improve the field of ABA. He is the creator of BxMastery, with over 4,000 goal ideas, sequenced, to inspire your programming. With 10+ years of experience in the field, he’s dedicated to empowering others and fostering positive change through effective leadership and communication. Connect with Martin on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for more insights and updates.