A comparison of displacement and reinforcer potency for typically developing children

Carter et al. (2020) asked seven typically developing kids to pick between food and toys. First they let the child play with both. Then they put the items side-by-side and watched which one the child reached for most.

Next the team ran a short work task. Kids pressed a clicker to earn either the food or the toy. The researchers counted how fast the child worked for each item.

The item the child touched first did not always make them work harder. Four kids pressed fastest for their top pick, but three kids worked just as hard for the lower pick.

In plain words, liking something in the moment does not promise it will be the stronger reinforcer.

Smith et al. (1997) saw the same mismatch years earlier. Food pushed out toys in their preference test, yet the toys still worked when the team tested them later. Carter’s new data say the same thing happens with typical kids.

Frank-Crawford et al. (2018) also found mixed links between rank and power. They raised the work load and watched high-preference items lose value. Carter shows the split can appear even with a simple choice task.

Together the three papers send one message: a quick preference test is only step one. Always run a brief reinforcer check before you build a program.

You can’t trust the item a child grabs first to be your best reinforcer. Spend five extra minutes in the next session: let the kid work for both items and watch the response rate. Pick the one that produces the most work, not the one that won the point test. This tiny step saves you from slow progress later.