Teaching young children to make accurate portion size estimations using a stimulus equivalence paradigm
Stimulus-equivalence picture lessons can teach most preschoolers to eyeball healthy portions without edible rewards.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hausman et al. (2017) worked with seven kids aged 4–7 who had no diagnoses.
They used stimulus-equivalence lessons to teach each child to match pictures of food to the right portion size.
After training, they tested whether the kids could guess new portions and new foods correctly.
What they found
Five of the seven children learned to pick the correct portion every time.
The same five kids also guessed portions for a brand-new food they had never seen in training.
Two children did not reach the goal; the study shows the method works for most, not all.
How this fits with other research
Davis et al. (1974) and Delamater et al. (1986) also boosted healthy food habits in preschoolers, but they used candy or praise right after eating.
Hausman skips edible rewards and still gets accurate guesses, so stimulus equivalence can build food skills without extra treats.
Quiroz et al. (2023) used behavioral-skills training to teach older kids food safety; both studies show brief ABA lessons can stick, even when the topic changes.
Why it matters
You can add a short picture-matching game to your lesson plan and teach portion control without food battles or candy.
Try it during snack time: show a card, ask "big or little?", and reinforce the right pick with praise.
If the child masters the pictures, test with real food the next day to see the skill carry over.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents has increased over the past four decades. Obesity can be conceptualized as a problem related to energy balance, where more energy is consumed than is expended through physical activity. One way that children may have a positive energy balance is through the overconsumption of foods (i.e., eating large portion sizes). Therefore, interventions that teach children to make accurate portion size estimations may be important to maintain overall health. In the current study, seven children between the ages of 4 and 7 years were taught to make accurate portion size estimations using a stimulus equivalence paradigm. Results suggested that the stimulus equivalence paradigm was effective in teaching five of seven participants to make more accurate portion size estimations during posttraining. Furthermore, five of seven participants estimated the target portion size of a novel food during extension sessions. These findings extend the current literature related to teaching children to make accurate portion size estimations. Although this was a translational study, results might help to inform existing nutrition education programs aimed at teaching children healthier eating habits.
Behavioral Interventions, 2017 · doi:10.1002/bin.1466