Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
918281 Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 2012 15 Pages PDF
Abstract

Previous studies failed to find evidence for rational action selection in children under 2 years of age. The current study investigated whether younger children required more training to encode the relevant causal relationships. Children between 1½ and 3 years of age were trained over two sessions to perform actions on a touch-sensitive screen to obtain video clips as outcomes. Subsequently, a visual habituation procedure was employed to devalue one of the training outcomes. As in previous studies, 2- and 3-year-olds chose actions associated with an expected valued outcome significantly more often during a subsequent choice test. Moreover, analysis of children’s first responses in the post-devaluation test revealed evidence of rational action selection even in the youngest age group (18–23 months). Consistent with dual-process accounts of action control, the findings support the view that the ability to make rational action choices develops gradually.

► Children >2 years select actions rationally to obtain currently desirable outcomes. ► Younger children tend to chose actions regardless of expected outcome’s desirability. ► We found evidence of rational action selection <2 years after extended training. ► Results support dual-process models of action selection and initiation.

Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities Psychology Developmental and Educational Psychology
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