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ERIC Number: ED044184
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1970
Pages: 18
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Effects of Different Types of Reinforcement on Young Children's Incidental Learning.
Siegel, Alexander W.; Van Cara, Flo
One hundred and eight kindergarten and elementary school children, 36 at each of three age levels (5, 7, and 9 years) participated in the experiment. All children were presented a three-part successive discrimination task; original learning, presentation of incidental stimuli, and a test of recongition and recall of the incidental material. One-third of the subjects at each age level learned the original task (intentional learning) under one of three reinforcement conditions; Right-blank, Right-Wrong, or Wrong-blank. Contrary to prediction, there were no age differences in incidental recognition or recall (previous studies had found a curvilinear relation between age and incidental learning.) Although the main effect of reinforcement condition was not significant for trails to criterion on intentional learning, children of all ages who learned the original discrimination under the Wrong-blank condition showed significantly higher incidental recognition and recall than subjects tested under the Right-Wrong and Wrong-blank conditions. Results were discussed in terms of the effects of a Wrong-blank reinforcement procedure on the child's attention to the task. (Author)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC. Bureau of Research.
Authoring Institution: Pittsburgh Univ., PA. Learning Research and Development Center.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A