The choices and preferences of nursery school children.

Researchers watched preschoolers pick classroom jobs. They noted which jobs kids chose first and which they ignored.

Next they handed out plastic tokens. Kids could trade tokens for small toys later. The team paid tokens only for the jobs the children had skipped before.

They flipped the rule and paid tokens for the already-popular jobs. Then they removed tokens entirely. The sequence repeated to be sure the tokens caused the change.

When the unpopular jobs paid tokens, children rushed to do them. The once-ignored jobs became the new favorites.

Paying tokens for already-loved jobs made those jobs even more popular. Without tokens, the old likes and dislikes came back.

Alba et al. (1972) got the same flip. They paired a plain picture with tokens until kids preferred that picture. Both studies show tokens can re-wire what children like.

Diaz de Villegas et al. (2020, 2024) moved the idea forward. They paid preschoolers right as the target behavior happened instead of handing out tokens to cash later. Kids stayed on-task and said they liked the immediate way better.

Hardesty et al. (2023) looked like a clash at first. They found kids still preferred free, noncontingent goodies even when contingent payment worked best for work output. The difference is the outcome measured: Hardesty tracked on-task minutes while W et al. tracked which job kids freely chose next. Kids can like free stuff yet still pick the paying job when it is the only one that earns tokens.

You can turn any preschool chore into a favored activity just by making it the only token-earning spot. Use this when a child avoids circle-time helper, line leader, or clean-up captain. Pay tokens only for that role for a few days, then thin the schedule. The new preference often sticks long enough to fade the tokens entirely.