Comparison of Effects of Labeled and Unlabeled Praise and Time-Out upon Children's Discrimination Learning

Abstract

In the present study 60 preschool children participated in a three-choice discrimination learning task. The effects of praise and time-out were compared in a 2 (labeled vs unlabeled praise) X 3 (labeled vs unlabeled vs no time-out) factorial design. Labeled groups received a specific verbal description of the correct (or incorrect) choice in addition to the appropriate consequence (s). As predicted, both labeled praise and time-out groups showed significantly more correct and less incorrect behavior, respectively, on the task (marble-in-the-hole game) than comparable groups receiving unlabeled consequences. The time-out procedure, inaccessibility of a reinforced response, was effective only when a description of the incorrect response accompanied the negative consequence. Results did not confirm the prediction that the group given both labeled praise and labeled time-out would show more correct and less incorrect responding than groups receiving a description of only one dimension.