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Children's choice: Sensitivity to changes in reinforcer density.

E J Sonuga-Barke, S E Lea, P Webley

    Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
    |March 1, 1989
    PubMed
    Summary

    Children

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    Area of Science:

    • Developmental Psychology
    • Behavioral Economics
    • Operant Conditioning

    Background:

    • Understanding how children make decisions involving delayed rewards is crucial for developmental psychology and behavioral economics.
    • Children's sensitivity to reinforcer density, a key factor in intertemporal choice, develops over time.
    • Previous research indicates age-related differences in delay discounting, but the specific mechanisms are not fully understood.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate children's sensitivity to changes in reinforcer density under different conditions.
    • To examine age-related differences in intertemporal choice, specifically focusing on reinforcer size and delay.
    • To explore the developmental trajectory of adaptive decision-making in children.

    Main Methods:

    • Concurrent-chain schedules of reinforcement were used to assess choice behavior in children aged 6, 9, and 12 years.
    • Reinforcer density was manipulated by varying reinforcer size (number of tokens) and prereinforcer delay (time until reward).
    • Titration procedures were employed in a second experiment to further assess delay insensitivity.

    Main Results:

    • Children of all ages were sensitive to changes in reinforcer density resulting from altered reinforcer size.
    • Only 12-year-olds demonstrated sensitivity to changes in reinforcer density caused by manipulating prereinforcer delay.
    • Younger children (6-year-olds) showed a strong preference for larger, delayed rewards, increasing the delay, while older children (12-year-olds) balanced choices.

    Conclusions:

    • Children's ability to adaptively manage delayed rewards develops in stages.
    • Sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude appears earlier than sensitivity to prereinforcer delay in decision-making.
    • These findings suggest a two-stage developmental process for adaptive intertemporal choice in children.

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