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Self-control: an application of the generalized matching law
American Journal of Mental Deficiency
|May 1, 1982
Summary
Children with intellectual disabilities made more impulsive choices when they could start tasks immediately. A commitment condition, with a 24-hour delay, led to more self-controlled decisions, supporting the generalized matching law.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Understanding decision-making in children with intellectual disabilities is crucial.
- Impulsive choices can impact learning and daily functioning.
- The generalized matching law offers a framework for predicting choice behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors influencing impulsive versus self-controlled choices in children with intellectual disabilities.
- To test predictions derived from the generalized matching law.
- To compare choice behavior under immediate versus delayed conditions.
Main Methods:
- An ABAB reversal design was employed with five children diagnosed with intellectual disabilities.
- Participants made choices between small, immediate rewards and large, delayed rewards.
- Two conditions were implemented: free-choice (immediate task commencement) and commitment (24-hour delay before task commencement).
Main Results:
- A higher frequency of impulsive choices was observed during the free-choice condition.
- The commitment condition, involving a delay, resulted in a greater proportion of self-controlled choices.
- Results generally aligned with predictions from the generalized matching law.
Conclusions:
- Choice behavior in children with intellectual disabilities is sensitive to the immediacy of reinforcement.
- Introducing a commitment delay can promote more self-controlled decision-making.
- The generalized matching law provides a useful model for understanding these choice patterns.
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