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Updated: May 18, 2026

A Treatment Package without Escape Extinction to Address Food Selectivity
Published on: August 21, 2015
More PEAS Please! Improves Preschool Children's Science Knowledge and Language Development Through Food-Based
Virginia C Stage1, Jocelyn B Dixon1, Ryan Lundquist2
1Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, North Carolina State University, NC State Extension, Raleigh, NC.
Objective:
To examine the efficacy and fidelity of More PEAS Please!, a food-based learning intervention, on children's (aged 3-5 years) science knowledge and language development.
Design:
Quasi-experimental (2-group) design with child-level assessments at baseline, preintervention, and postintervention. Intervention teachers participated in semistructured interviews to contextualize child outcomes.
Setting:
Seven Head Start centers across 3 counties in North Carolina.
Participants:
Two hundred and seventy-two children (n = 125 intervention; n = 147 comparison) and 19 intervention teachers.
Intervention:
Intervention classrooms received More PEAS Please!; comparison classrooms received the standard science curriculum.
Phenomenon Of Interest And Variables:
Science knowledge, language development, anthropometrics, and program fidelity; teacher perceptions of implementation and child learning.
Analysis:
Linear mixed models examined group-by-time effects, adjusting for age, sex, body mass index percentiles, race/ethnicity, and developmental concerns; center was treated as a random effect. Qualitative data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach.
Results:
Children in the intervention group showed greater gains in science knowledge and language (P < 0.05) compared with the comparison group. Implementation was achieved with high fidelity. Teachers described improved comprehension, diverse learning needs, and program supports contributing to implementation and sustainability.
Conclusions And Implications:
The intervention was implemented with high fidelity and improved early learning outcomes among children from families with limited resources.
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