Os efeitos da exposição gradual à consequência e da oportunidade de escolha entre eventos de diferentes valores reforçadores sobre escolhas de autocontrole

Abstract

The reasons why we make decisions have been focus of scientific interest and popular curiosity. The present research was conducted with the objective of investigating variables that influence self-controlled choices. Four studies were performed. The studies were carried out with eleven children aged 3 to 4. The experimental task consisted in the choice between two competing stimuli, presented in the monitor of a computer, followed by immediate consequences of smaller quantity and delayed ones of greater quantity. Study 1 aimed to train discriminations necessary for the choice between stimuli followed by consequences with different quantities and delays without verbal descriptions of the same. Participants were exposed to the following conditions: Simple Discrimination with Reversal, Training of Reinforcement Amount, and Reinforcement Delay. The results demonstrated that participants responded differently to concurrent stimuli in the first two experimental conditions. With the insertion of the delay, five participants finalized the study choosing the delayed consequence in percentage equal to or above 70% and three finalized choosing around 50%. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and further investigated the effect of equalizing the Interval between Attempts (EBT) on self-control choices. The results indicated that there were no substantial differences in the number of self-controlled choices between the conditions with and without EBT equalization. In Studies 3 and 4, potentially reinforcing events were manipulated along the delay of the consequence of greater quantity. Specifically, Study 3 was conducted with the objective of investigating the effect of the choice between preferred and non-preferred events on self-control choices. Participants were exposed to the following conditions: a) choice with high preference activities, b) choice with low preference activities, c) no choice with high preference activities, and d) no choice with low preference activities. The opportunity to choose was manipulated between conditions. The results indicated that self-controlled choices increased with preferred video conditions, regardless of the opportunity to choose between them. In Study 4 the opportunity of choice was manipulated intra-conditions and all videos available over the delay of consequence were of high reinforcement value. The results showed that the condition with opportunity to choose increased self-controlled choices.