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Improving conditional discrimination learning and memory in five-year-old children: differential outcomes effect
Lourdes Martínez1, Angeles F Estévez, Luis J Fuentes
1University of Almería, Almería, Spain.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|February 14, 2009
Summary
The differential outcomes procedure (DOP) speeds up learning and improves memory in children. This training method, where correct choices yield rewards and incorrect ones may incur losses, enhances learning performance and persistence.
Area of Science:
- * Cognitive Psychology
- * Developmental Psychology
- * Behavioral Science
Background:
- * Discriminative learning is enhanced when specific outcomes are linked to each relation.
- * The differential outcomes procedure (DOP) leads to faster and better learning compared to common or nondifferential outcomes (NDO).
Purpose of the Study:
- * To evaluate the effectiveness of DOP in 5-year-old children.
- * To compare three reinforcement strategies within DOP: gain (+), loss (-), and combined gain/loss (+/-).
- * To assess the impact of DOP on learning, memory, and persistence in a symbolic delayed matching-to-sample task.
Main Methods:
- * Two experiments were conducted with 5-year-old children using a symbolic delayed matching-to-sample task.
- * Experiment 1 utilized both secondary and primary reinforcers, while Experiment 2 used only primary reinforcers.
- * Children were trained under DOP conditions with gain, loss, or combined gain/loss reinforcement schedules, compared against NDO.
Main Results:
- * Children learned the task faster and demonstrated higher performance and persistence with DOP compared to NDO.
- * The advantage of DOP was observed regardless of whether it involved differential gain, loss, or a combination.
- * A novel finding indicated superior performance when children lost a reinforcer for incorrect choices (loss-based training).
- * The benefits of DOP over NDO were amplified in a subsequent retention test.
Conclusions:
- * DOP significantly enhances learning speed, performance, and memory persistence in young children.
- * Loss-based reinforcement within DOP appears particularly effective for improving task performance.
- * The positive effects of DOP are robust and can increase over time, as evidenced by retention test results.
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