Choice in transition: Replication and extension to preschool children in a naturalistic setting
Preschoolers divide their time the same way pigeons divide pecks—attention goes where reinforcement flows.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Martens et al. (2016) moved a classic pigeon experiment into a preschool classroom.
They set up two play areas. Each gave adult attention on its own schedule.
Kids could move between areas. The team logged where children spent time.
They asked: do preschoolers follow the same matching rule as pigeons?
What they found
Children’s time in each area lined up with how often teachers paid attention there.
The old matching equation predicted the kids’ choices almost perfectly.
Even with toys and friends around, reinforcement rate still ruled.
How this fits with other research
PLISKOFF (1963) first showed pigeons match response rate to grain rate. Martens copied that setup and got the same curve with three-year-olds.
Green et al. (1999) also watched preschoolers choose, but in their homes during FBA. They saw kids bounce between demands, toys, and parent attention. The 2016 study trims the scene to just attention and still finds clean matching—proof the law holds when extra variables are stripped out.
Tyrer et al. (2009) warned that preference keeps shifting for about four reinforcers after a change. Martens didn’t track micro-shifts, so the two studies fit together: steady-state looks smooth, moment-to-moment is jumpy.
Why it matters
You can treat on-task and off-task behavior like two concurrent schedules. Bump the attention rate for work and the math says kids will stick longer. No new tokens, no fancy tech—just deliver praise faster in the target area and watch time allocation tilt. Try it during centers tomorrow: tally attention given to each area for ten minutes, then shift more to the one you need to grow.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study replicated previous basic research into the dynamics of choice and extended this analysis to children's behavior in a naturalistic setting. Two preschoolers with disabilities were observed interacting with their teachers at baseline and during an experimental analysis involving four pairs of concurrent variable-interval schedules of adult attention implemented by an experimenter. Each child was exposed to four experimental phases in which the relative reinforcer rates for on- and off-task behavior were 10:1, 1:1, 1:10, and reversed back to 10:1. The 10:1 phase was designed to mimic the same schedules and types of adult attention observed at baseline. We used the generalized matching equation to model steady-state behavior at the end of the transition phases and to evaluate changes in sensitivity at various points throughout the phases. Choice in transition was evaluated by plotting log behavior ratios by session, cumulated time on- and off-task and cumulated attention for on- and off-task behavior by session, and interreinforcer behavior ratios following different sequences of the first four reinforcer deliveries. The generalized matching equation accounted for a large proportion of variance in steady-state responding, sensitivity values increased steadily throughout the phases, patterns of choice in transition were similar to those reported in basic research, and interreinforcer preference generally shifted toward the just-reinforced alternative. These findings are consistent with previous basic research and support the generality of the dynamics of choice to children's on- and off-task behavior reinforced by adult attention.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 2016 · doi:10.1002/jeab.201