Delay of reinforcement gradients in children’s learning

Abstract

Ninety Grade 2 children were randomly assigned to one of nine conditions in a study of the effects of concurrent delay of reward and delay of punishment on children’s learning. Three levels of delay of reward and three levels of delay of punishment, 0, 10, and 30 sec. in each case, were selected for study. Both increasing delay of reward and increasing delay of punishment significantly increased the number of errors made during learning.