Droit S, Pouthas V, Jacquet A Y
Laboratoire de Psycho-Biologie de l'Enfant, EPHE, CNRS, Paris, France.
J Exp Child Psychol. 1990 Oct;50(2):305-21. doi: 10.1016/0022-0965(90)90044-9.
The present study investigates effects of different types of instructions (high-rate, interval, and minimal) during training with a fixed-interval schedule as a function of prior acquired temporal knowledge. A pretest was used to assess 4 1/2- and 6-year-old children's ability to understand the temporal parameters of a fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement. The results as a whole show that the control exerted by instructions given by the experimenter or elaborated by the subjects themselves on fixed-interval performance of young children depends on the interaction of two factors: development of verbal self-control skills and mastery of knowledge required by the rules forming the instructions.
