Effects of Differential Consequences on Choice Making in Students at Risk for Academic Failure
Student choice boosts work time only when you pair it with immediate, specific praise.
01Research in Context
What this study did
May (2019) worked with three students who were falling behind in class.
Each day the kids picked one of two school tasks they liked.
The teacher then gave attention only when the child stayed on task.
The study flipped the order to see if choice alone or choice plus praise worked better.
What they found
Kids stayed on task only when choice came with quick, specific praise.
Teacher attention beat just standing near the desk.
On-task time jumped from about a large share to over a large share when praise followed the chosen work.
How this fits with other research
Whiting et al. (2025) later showed the same idea works online.
College students voted on the next Zoom topic and showed up a large share more when their pick won.
Both studies say choice helps, but only when paired with a real payoff—praise or winning the vote.
Gaucher et al. (2020) used a cousin method called DRL with autistic preschoolers.
Those kids also needed clear reinforcement to change their timing, echoing May’s point that attention is the active piece, not just choice.
Why it matters
You can copy this Monday.
Let your learner pick the worksheet or game, then deliver labeled praise the second they start.
Skip the praise and choice alone does little, so keep your praise rate high and immediate.
One minute of planning plus a handful of “Nice job starting math right away” can double on-task time.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Problem behavior can be reduced through choice making and use of preferred instructional activities. However, the opportunity to choose does not imply students are more engaged with instructional activities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of differential consequences on the on-task behavior of students within the context of teacher versus student selection of instructional activities. Students were exposed to two contingencies (i.e., escape + differential attention vs. escape + physical proximity) across two stimulus events (i.e., teacher vs. student choice of preferred instructional activities) using an alternating-treatments design within an A-B-A-B design. Choice of instructional activities increased on-task behavior during student-choice conditions compared to the teacher-choice conditions, but only when differential attention was provided. Differential attention was also more effective than physical proximity at increasing on-task behavior. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s40617-018-0267-3