Children's Self-control Research Articles

Parenting Styles and Overweight Status in First Grade

The goal was to determine the relationship between the 4 parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful) and overweight status in first grade. Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were analyzed. Children with complete data for parenting parameters at 54 months and measured weight and height in first grade were included in the analysis. Overweight was defined as BMI of > or =95th percentile. The 4 parenting styles were constructed with 2 scales, namely, maternal sensitivity and maternal expectations for child self-control. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between parenting style and overweight in first grade, controlling for gender, race, maternal education, income/needs ratio, marital status, and child behavior problems. A total of 872 children, 11.1% overweight and 82.8% white, were included in the analysis. Children of authoritarian mothers (n = 298) had an increased risk of being overweight, compared with children of authoritative mothers (n = 179). Children of permissive (n = 132) and neglectful (n = 263) mothers were twice as likely to be overweight, compared with children of authoritative mothers. Of the covariates, only income/needs ratio was significant and did not alter the relationship between parenting style and overweight risk. Among the 4 parenting styles, authoritarian parenting was associated with the highest risk of overweight among young children. Understanding the mechanisms through which parenting styles are associated with overweight risk may lead to the development of more-comprehensive and better-targeted interventions.

Maternal beliefs concerning young children's private speech

The goal of this study was to understand maternal reports, beliefs, and attitudes about their young children's use of private speech. Mothers of 48 children between the ages of 3 and 5 participated in a semi-structured interview in which they reported on the frequency and context of their child's use of private speech, maternal responses toward such speech use in children, and beliefs about the utility of such speech for children. Interviews were transcribed and responses coded. Mothers also completed surveys on children's self control and parenting style. Results indicated that practically all parents reported that their child engaged in private speech and that such speech was more likely to appear during fantasy play than during problem-solving activities. Parents varied in their personal responses to children's self talk and, as a group, do not appear to actively discourage or encourage its use. Ignoring/allowing child private speech use was common and this response was positively associated with authoritative parenting. Parental reports of the frequency with which their child talks to himself were negatively associated with parental reports of children's self-control. Crib speech, or bedtime monologue, was reported to be very common and was negatively associated with children's self-control and positively associated with children's private speech use. Parents were uniformly positive in their belief that private speech serves important functions and that it helps young children during task activities. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rule-governed behavior and self-control in children with ADHD: A theoretical interpretation.

Abstract Three theoretical models of ADHD are reviewed and interpreted in light of educational and behavioral research findings specifically in respect to interventions using self-management to address a deficit in rule-governed behavior. The perspectives considered in this paper are (a) the unified theory of behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and EF (Barkley, 1997), (b) the cognitive-energetic model (Sergeant, Oosterlaan, & van der Meere, 1999), and (c) the dynamic developmental theory (Sagvolden, Johansen, Aase, & Russell, 2005). The perspectives are discussed in terms of the continued development of increasingly comprehensive models and the need to pursue theoretically driven behavioral and educational interventions in the future. Keyword descriptors: Theory, Self-Control, Self-management. ********** Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is arguably the most prevalent neurobehavioral disorder diagnosed in children today (Fazier & Merrell, 1997; Root and Resnick, 2003; Treat ADHD, 2002). Researchers have explored multiple aspects of the disorder including etiology, ontogenesis, and treatment options for the child population. Considering the abundance of research on it is surprising how little of the literature on educational and/or behavioral treatment options is theoretically driven (Zentall, 2005). Historically, theories of ADHD focused on isolated, singular constructs. In the past decade, however, researchers have made significant contributions towards a comprehensive model (Nigg, 2005). As increasingly comprehensive models are developed, it will be important for behavior therapists, educators, and applied researchers to make attempts to interpret applied research findings in light of these possible perspectives to provide support for or refute these ideas. ADHD literature focusing on educational and/or behavioral interventions typically addresses skill deficits and/or lack of motivation. The resultant research often indicates limited effects, failure to maintain effects, and little or no generalization of skills (Barry & Haraway, 2005b; Mather & Goldstein, 2001). There is little consideration of variations in etiology of the presenting behaviors or alternative explanations for the limited effects, failure to maintain effects, and failure to generalize effects that are so often reported in the literature (Barkley, 2000). Relatively recent developments in theoretical models of ADHD focusing on neurobiology and behavior provide increased possibilities for interpreting and understanding the processes that may contribute to these research findings (Sagvolden et al., 2005). As research in the field of ADHD advances, the disorder is more often considered a deficit of self-regulation than a problem of limited attention (Nigg, 2005). Of particular interest to behavior therapists and educators is the limited acquisition of rule-governed behavior and self-control in children diagnosed with ADHD. Rule-governed behavior is behavior that is controlled by verbally mediated rules that describe the contingency between a behavior and consequence without the actual behavior or consequence necessarily being present (Mather & Goldstein, 2001). Once behaviors are produced, they are shaped by actual contingencies that occur in practice. Behaviorally, deficits in rule-governed behavior are implicated in children with ADHD because the children exhibit appropriate behaviors when external consequences are present but fail to exhibit appropriate behaviors when external consequences are removed (Brown & La Rosa, 2002; Carlson & Tamm, 2000; Mather & Goldstein, 2001; Slusarek, Velling, Bunk, & Eggers, 2001). Thus, children with ADHD appear to be unable to follow the rules of rule-governed behavior without the consequence being immediately present. Interventions reported in educational and behavioral literature have utilized self-management strategies in which educators explicitly teach language-mediated rules designed to govern behavior to address a presumed skill deficit (Barry & Haraway, 2005a; Barry & Messer, 2003; Hinshaw & Melnick, 1992; Shapiro, DuPaul, & Bradley-Klug, 1998). …

Comment on “Rule-governed behavior and self-control in children with ADHD: A theoretical interpretation”.

In recent years, several papers (including the present paper) have considered phenomena putatively relevant to rule-governed behavior (RGB). At the request of the editor, I have condensed a few of my concerns about the practice of drawing casual connections between noncompliance, failure to complete assigned tasks, etc., and basic research on RGB. These are not particularly original or new concerns, since they largely echo earlier cautions about this practice (see Schlinger, 1990; 1993; 1995). Nevertheless, the central thesis of this commentary is to reassert (see Schlinger, 1990) that if RGB is to be invoked, we should reserve its use for circumstances that merit such special usage, and in particular, when direct contingency analyses no longer seem capable of accounting for or describing the phenomena of interest in a way that leads to effective action. To get directly to the point, the fact that children with ADHD have language and that their behavior seems unresponsive to long-term rewards, or fails to conform to expectations in various settings (schools and home), should not be taken as de facto evidence that RGB is implicated in the development and maintenance of ADHD. Yet this seems to be the basis of most arguments framing the analysis of ADHD in terms of rules, including Barkley's (1990). Indeed, models of ADHD might be conceptualized from a choice or delay discounting perspective equally profitably--if not more so (see Critchfield & Kollins, 2001). Especially relevant to the present case is the nature of the short-term/long-term choices made and the risk/reward ratios involved in making (or not making) healthy choices (see work by Rachlin, Baum, and others, as cited in Critchfield & Kollins, 2001). Notably, although Rachlin and other basic researchers in the experimental behavior analysis tradition are interested in phenomena relevant to the issues presented in this manuscript (e.g., self-control), their work is not discussed, presumably because these behavior analytic researchers work within a discovery model that is better characterized as bottom-up than top down. This is not surprising, given Skinner's (1950) preference for basic research and the notion that we should ultimately draw inferences from data rather than make inferences and attempt to fit the data to them. As a result, there are few comprehensive theories in behavior analysis (the matching law, perhaps a notable exception), and none that have specifically been applied to ADHD. Again, the fact that most children diagnosed with ADHD are verbal, by itself, does not implicate RGB as an important factor in the development of ADHD. Direct contingency shaping, modeling, and stimulus control/discrimination training, already well-developed explanatory concepts in the operant literature, might ultimately offer a much more comprehensive account of ADHD, if extended to for all of the relevant phenomena associated with the disorder (but see below regarding whether such efforts would be worthwhile). To make a convincing case for an independent analysis of verbal behavior (VB) effects, it is important to illustrate the inadequacies of other approaches. The present paper makes an effort to discuss the limitations of existing direct contingency approaches, but in my view, does not do enough systematically to clarify the distinctions between RGB and direct-contingency shaping. There is no certainty that a model based on RBG or VB will result in better intervention outcomes than models derived from direct contingency analyses; however, it is a certainty that no meaningful comparison can be made without a better conceptual understanding of RGB. A survey of theoretical papers and basic research in the behavior analytic tradition could do much to enhance the quality of research on ADHD and RGB. Some of the most important papers involving conceptual analyses of rules and RGB have been authored by Schlinger and colleagues (see Schlinger, 1990; 1993; Schlinger & Blakely, 1987). …

A response to reviewer comments regarding the manuscript, “Rule-governed behavior and self-control in children with ADHD: A theoretical interpretation”.

We appreciate the opportunity to respond to the issues raised in a review of the manuscript, Rule-Governed Behavior and Self-Control in Children with ADHD: A Theoretical Interpretation submitted by Leasha M. Barry and Melissa A. Kelly (this issue). Many of the points brought to light in the review are indeed useful for discussion and provide additional research directions for further model development and testing. Solely Leasha M. Barry authored portions of this response and this will be indicated as such by the use of the pronoun I. Alternately, the final paragraph in this response was a joint effort and reflects the thoughts of both myself and Melissa A. Kelly and is indicated as such by the use of the pronoun we. I will address the reviewer's comments in roughly the same order as they were raised for simplicity. The fruitfulness of attempts to interpret applied research findings in light of theoretical perspectives is identified as a major issue in the review. I will say that this exercise was challenging in light of the theoretical perspectives to date regarding ADHD and the lack of identification of Rule Governed Behavior (RGB) within them. I must assume that this lack of connection between applied research and theoretical (basic) research was the reason that the editors of JEIBI invited me to write the manuscript on this topic specifically. I see no need to defend the parameters of such an invited manuscript further. As to the fruitfulness of the endeavor, or lack there-of, it is my opinion that the development of theoretical models, professional discussion of theoretical models, and the pursuit of both basic and applied research to test these models can be highly fruitful indeed. This is the tradition of experimental research and the progression of knowledge in any scientific field. In the area of ADHD, there is a clear need for such discussion, model development, and testing as we continue to have difficulty treating the disorder and/or symptoms. I agree that a clear operational definition of RGB is necessary prior to embarking on a discussion of the relationship between RGB and theoretical perspectives of ADHD. My attempt at a definition of RGB was to lean on the work of Mather and Goldstein (2001), Rule-governed behavior is behavior that is controlled by verbally mediated rules that describe the contingency between a behavior and consequence without the actual behavior or consequence necessarily being present (paragraph 3 of the manuscript). The reviewer also mentions this work as the closest to date at creating a clear definition. The reviewer's agreement in terms of the most useful current definition available leaves me unclear as to why we are debating it here. This definition of rules and RGB, included in the manuscript, leads me to question the reviewer's repeated argument that rules and RGB must be distinguished from contingencies and contingency shaped behavior. By definition (Mather & Goldstein, 2001), rules are verbally mediated statements that describe a contingency relationship between a behavior and consequence, with or without the actual stimuli being present. In fact, the reviewer later defines rules as contingency statements. If we can agree that rules are in fact synonymous with contingency statements (albeit a specific category of contingency statements in that rules are verbally mediated and specific stimuli need not be present), then many of the repeated issues raised by the reviewer proclaiming a need to distinguish between these ideas can be put to rest. I believe this agreement is possible as the reviewer later acknowledges that some researchers question the distinction between RGB and contingency-shaped behavior. Further the reviewer alternately refers to rules as contingencies when not arguing that the two must be distinguished. I agree that RGB cannot be implicated in diagnosis of ADHD just because children with ADHD have language, are unresponsive to long term rewards, and fail to conform to expectations. …

The Caffeine challenge: “Dew” you believe it works?

Background Paradoxical hyperactivity is an idiosyncratic reaction to intravenous pentobarbital (IVPB) sedation characterized by extreme inconsolable irritability and hyperactive behavior, similar to that seen in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Paradoxical reactions are more often seen during the recovery phase but can occur during induction. Stimulants are known to increase concentration and improve self-control in hyperactive children. Objective In an IRB-approved prospective study, the presenters evaluated the effectiveness of a stimulant, caffeine, in treating paradoxical hyperactivity to IVPB sedation in children. Methods From April 2001 to December 2002, children sedated with IVPB for diagnostic imaging and interventional procedures were eligible for enrollment. IVPB was given either as a single agent or in combination with midazolam or midazolam and fentanyl citrate. Caffeine was administered either orally, IV, or combined. A positive response was recorded if symptoms (agitation, crying, or hyperactivity) decreased within 40 minutes of caffeine administration. Response time was characterized as immediate (within 10 minutes), early (11-20 minutes), late (21-30 minutes), delayed (31-40 minutes), absent (>41 minutes), or unknown (no time or response recorded). Results PO Caffeine IV Caffeine IV+PO Caffeine Total # of patients enrolled 82 114 7 203 # of positive responses 69 67 7 143 % of positive response 84% 59% 100% 70% Complications 0 0 0 0 Conclusion Administration of caffeine is effective in managing paradoxical hyperactivity to IVPB in children. The best results were in the small subgroup that received both oral and IV therapy. Further investigation is required to determine whether combined oral and IV therapy is warranted and whether confounding factors such as blood sugar and caffeine intake at home inhibit the effectiveness of this treatment.

Identifying and supporting behaviours associated with co-operation, assertion and self-control in young children starting school

SUMMARY The transition to the first year of schooling has been perceived as one of the major challenges children have to face in their early childhood years. This transition can be a critical factor for children's adjustment to the demands of the school environment and in determining future school success. When children experience social difficulties in the early years of school they are more likely to continue experiencing these problems throughout their schooling. An understanding of the social skills that predict children's adjustment to the first year of schooling can assist early childhood staff to identify children at risk of maladjustment and to implement appropriate intervention strategies. This paper will identify social skills that contribute to the constructs of co-operation, assertion and self control. Strategies that early childhood staff can use in promoting adjustment to school will be addressed.

Parental management, ADHD, and delinquent involvement: Reassessing Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory*

A core proposition of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime is that ineffective parenting fosters low self-control in children, which leads to delinquent conduct. Using a sample of 2,472 students, we examined the impact of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on self-control and delinquency. The analysis revealed three main findings. First, low self-control was a strong predictor of both self-reported delinquency and self-reported arrests. Second, parental monitoring not only increased self-control, but had direct effects on both measures of delinquency. Third, the effects of ADHD on delinquency were largely through low self-control.

Validation of a Self-Control Rating Scale in a Chinese Preschool

Self-control is seen as a core aspect of human function and a basic component of human behavior across cultures. While many studies of self-control have been conducted in the United States, no measurement instrument of children's self-control has been developed in China. The purpose of the present study was to validate the translated Self-Control Rating Scale (SCRS) (Kendall & Wilcox, 1979) on a population of Chinese preschool children. A random selection of 204 Chinese preschool children, from more than 600 children in a child care center in Beijing, China, were studied to complete the translated Chinese version of SCRS (SCRS-C). The results of the analysis indicated satisfactory content validity, internal reliability (Cronbach α = .96), construct validity, and test-retest reliability (r = .95) of the SCRS-C. Validating the translated Chinese version of the SCRS-C allowed for a useful measurement tool to become available in China, which can be used to compare Asian children from different programs, areas, and subcultures.

Family-based interventions for the treatment of childhood obesity

Family-based interventions for the treatment of childhood obesity

Self-Control: Toward Systematic Training Programs

Selected literature is reviewed regarding the question, How may children's self-control skills be developed or improved through training? It is premature to give up on psychosocial methods of training self-control. Self-control is fostered by being in a long-term positive relationship with a dependable person who communicates the value of this goal; working at self-control challenges carefully chosen to be at the correct level of difficulty for present skill; getting many positive models of the successful exercise of self-control; logging in many hours of practice where valued rewards are contingent upon greater and greater exercise of effort; learning that valued rewards can be obtained by effort, and thereby learning to enjoy effort; using fantasy rehearsal; learning compliance skills; learning verbal concepts (including a term for self-control itself) that affect the world view in ways conducive to this skill; learning the art of self-instruction; learning to remove oneself from tempting stimuli, physically and mentally; and learning self-monitoring.

CANCIAN, Francesca M. and Stacey J. OLIKER, THE GENDER LENS: CARING AND GENDER.

CANCIAN, Francesca M. and Stacey J. OLIKER, THE GENDER LENS: CARING AND GENDER. Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 2000,183 pp.; $21.95 softcover. This book explores the dimensions of caregiving from a sociological perspective. According to Cancian and Oliker, caring is highly valued in American culture in some ways and devalued in others. The problem with caregiving is that it has traditionally and continues today to be seen as women's work and has been a basis of inequality. The different forms of caregiving discussed in the book are: caregiving in families of various structures and forms, paid caregiving outside families, caregiving in communities through voluntary associations, and government caregiving. One of the main themes is that caregiving has been viewed as natural rather than skilled work and as a result the domain of women. This is not to say that caregiving is unimportant. To the contrary, the authors argue that it is important and that we should value it more than we do because we should be a caring society. However, it should not be relegated solely to women and it should not be underpaid and undervalued. Cancian and Oliker challenge the belief of the naturalness of women as caregivers through first examining historical portraits of families in America. Early families had many functions and caregiving as we think of it today was not the same. The way people cared for each other and expressed affection were limited by economic hardship, by high death rates among children and adults, and by religious beliefs that stressed the importance of teaching children self-control, obedience, and piety. There were variations in caregiving between European Americans, Native Americans and enslaved African Americans. Changes in the economy relegated separate gender spheres and caregiving came to be seen as solely women's work. This view carried over into the employment sector. Through tracing the process of the professionalization of Nursing, Cancian and oliker illustrate how caregiving was viewed by society as natural for women, rather than a skill. Cancian and Oliker explore the myth of the self-sufficient nuclear family. They argue that this idea encourages people to oppose government programs that support families that deviate from this myth. This cultural belief does not take into account the outside forces such as the availability of jobs, the wage rate, violence in the streets, or the quality of education that impinge upon the sufficiency of families. …

Low Self-Control of Emotions as an Antecedent of Self-Reported Physical Symptoms: A Longitudinal Perspective

The study was part of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, underway since 1968, in which children's low self-control of emotions was studied using teacher ratings at age 8 in terms of inattentiveness, shifting moods, aggression, and anxiety. The study was based on data from 112 women and 112 men who participated in the previous data collections at ages 8, 27, and 36. At age 27, the participants had been assessed in Neuroticism (N) using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire , and at age 36 they filled in several inventories measuring, among others, conscious and active attempts to repair negative emotions in a more positive direction as well as physical symptoms. The present study used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesis that personality characteristics indicating low self-control of emotions at ages 8 and 27 are antecedents of self-reported physical symptoms at age 36; and that this relationship is indirect, mediated by attempts to repair negative emotions in a more positive direction. The findings showed, albeit for men only, that inattentiveness at age 8 was positively related to self-reported physical symptoms at age 36 via high N at age 27 and low attempts to repair negative emotions at age 36. Additionally, N at age 27 was directly linked to self-reported physical symptoms at age 36. The mediation of an active attempt to repair negative emotions was not found for women. Correlations revealed, however, that shifting moods and aggression in girls were antecedents of self-reported physical symptoms in adulthood, particularly, pain and fatigue.

The Influence of Maternal Child-Rearing Attitudes and Teaching Behaviors on Preschoolers' Delay of Gratification

This study was an exploratory examination of the influence of mothers' teaching behaviors, strategies, and child-rearing attitudes on their children's ability to delay gratification. In an externally imposed delay of gratification situation, 30 mothers from a rural university community taught their children strategies that could help them refrain from touching a brightly wrapped present when the mothers left the room. Results showed that mothers of children who did not delay gratification exhibited teaching behaviors and child-rearing attitudes consistent with a permissive parenting style, whereas mothers of children who did delay gratification exhibited teaching behaviors and child-rearing attitudes consistent with an authoritative parenting style. The results of this study are discussed with respect to the development of children's self-control and self-regulatory abilities.

The Achieving, Behaving, Caring Project for Preventing ED: Two-Year Outcomes

Two-year outcomes are reported for a school-based early intervention program for 82 children identified as at risk for emotional disturbance (ED) by their kindergarten teachers. Matched pairs of children were randomly assigned to Parent-Teacher Action Research (PTAR) teams or to a control group for their first- and second-grade years. Teachers also provided social skills instruction to all participants, along with their classmates. At the end of the 2-year period, the PTAR group showed significantly greater reductions than the control group in teacher-reported internalizing problems and delinquent behavior; parent-reported total problems, externalizing, and delinquent behavior; and observed internalizing problems in the classroom. PTAR group parents also reported significantly greater increases in their children's cooperation, self-control, and total competence, as well as in their own feelings of empowerment in obtaining school-based services for their children. The findings demonstrate long-term incremental benefits of PTAR teams combined with whole-class social skills instruction for children at risk for ED.

Mother-infant affect synchrony as an antecedent of the emergence of self-control.

This study examined relations between mother-infant affect synchrony and the emergence of children's self-control. Mother-infant face-to-face play and infant difficult temperament were examined at 3 and 9 months. Maternal and infant affective states at play were coded in 0.25-s frames, and synchrony was computed with cross-correlation functions. Self-control, verbal IQ, and maternal warm discipline were assessed at 2 years. Maternal synchrony with infant affect at 3 months (infant-leads-mother-follows relation) and mutual synchrony at 9 months (cross-dependence between maternal and infant affect) were each related to self-control at 2 years when temperament, IQ, and maternal style were partialed. Infant temperament moderated the relations of synchrony and self-control, and closer associations were found between mutual synchrony and self-control for difficult infants. Shorter lags to maternal synchrony at 3 months were independently related to self-control. The mutual regulation of affect in infancy, as moderated by temperament, is proposed as an important contributor to the emergence of self-regulation.

Preventive Intervention for School-Age Deaf Children: The PATHS Curriculum

This study examined the effectiveness of the PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) Curriculum on the social, cognitive, and behavioral status of elementary school-age deaf children. PATHS, a school-based preventive intervention model, was designed to improve children's self-control, emotional understanding, and problem-solving skills. The intervention field trial included a quasi-experimental, wait-list control design involving 57 children in 11 self-contained classrooms utilizing Total Communication. Teachers were trained in the intervention model and provided PATHS lessons during most of one school year. Results indicated that the intervention led to significant improvement in students' social problem-solving skills, emotional recognition skills, and teacher- and parent-rated social competence. There was no effect in this normative sample on teacher- or parent-rated psychopathology. One-and-two-year posttest results indicated maintenance of effects. Results on the wait-list control group indicated replication of effects in a second sample. Discussion focused on the nature of change in school-based prevention trials.

Scores on Emotional Self-Control of Elementary School Children after a Five-Week Running Program

This study tested the prediction that fitness running would increase elementary school children's emotional self-control (Grade 3, n = 26, Control, n = 25). The results were contrary to the hypothesis.

Home/School Collaboration: A Model to Promote Family/School Partnerships in Preschool Special Education Programs For Children at Risk

This paper; in combination with a video called "Teaching Children Self-Control," identifies an underserved group of preschoolers "at risk" of later antisocial behaviors and school dropout who benefit from placement in preschool special education classes. Experience at Variety Pre-Schooler's Workshop (VPSW) and recent research studies support the effectiveness of a 2-year experience in a therapeutic nursery classroom with support services to families. Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) entitlements under PL 99-4S7 (1986), now called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), expand this opportunity to others.

Self-Control in Children: Age, Preference for Reinforcer Amount and Delay, and Language Ability

Choices between larger, more delayed and smaller, less delayed food reinforcers (a self-control paradigm) were examined in 45 boys and girls, along with their age, preference for reinforcer amount and reinforcer delay, and language ability test scores. Only the 5-year-olds showed statistically significant self-control. The 3-year-olds were indifferent, alternating between the two response alternatives. The behavior of the 7-year-olds was quite variable (similar to human adults’ behavior). Only the 7-year-olds’ behavior showed statistically significant preference for larger reinforcer amounts and for smaller reinforcer delays. Language ability was not related to self-control, and no gender differences were observed. These data indicate that, as children age, their behavior becomes more sensitive to reinforcer contingencies, and their self-control behavior changes (but does not monotonically increase).