Effects of choice opportunities between activities with high- and low-reinforcement values on self-control behavior in children with typical development: a pilot study

ABSTRACT

Self-control is evident in the choice of a delayed consequence with greater magnitude over an immediate one of lesser import. Impulsivity opts for the reverse, i.e., immediate gratification. Two studies were conducted of the enhancement of self-control behavior in a 5-year-old boy with typical development. The objective of the first study was to train the participant to choose between consequences based on their comparative magnitudes and delays. The initial study involved three training phases: simple discrimination, reinforcement magnitude, and delayed reinforcement. In the first study, the participant chose the delayed consequence of greater magnitude 90% of the time. Following the first study, the participant took part in a second. Its objective was to examine the effect on self-control responses of providing choices between high- and low-preference activities. The second study comprised four phases: abrupt increase in reinforcement delay (AIRD), choice opportunity with high-preference activities (CO-HPA), no choice opportunity with high-preference activities (NCO-HPA), and no choice opportunity with low-preference activities (NCO-LPA). In the AIRD phase, the response rate to the delayed consequence of greater magnitude averaged 20%. In the CO-HPA and NCO-HPA phases, the response to the delayed consequence of greater magnitude was 100%. During the NCO-LPA phase, the response rate to the delayed consequence of greater magnitude averaged 50%. The results suggest that reinforcement values play a greater role in self-control behavior than choice opportunity.

KEYWORDS:

• Self-control
• impulsivity
• choice opportunity
• reinforcement value
• activities

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by FAPESP funding agency, [2013/16564-0].