The Effects of Observational Learning and Reinforcement on Children's Choice-making

Book excerpt: The quality of life of individuals with disabilities can be enhanced by providing choice making opportunities and teaching choice making skills. The breadth of research examining the effects of choice has resulted in positive outcomes. The current literature base suggests that many individuals prefer making their own choices. The mechanisms underlying choice, however, have yet to be completely examined. A majority of the conceptual research has focused on how preference and reinforcement influence an individual's allocation of choices. Few studies have examined the variables that influence an individual's decision to defer his/her choices to another person. One variable that has yet to be examined is observational learning. The primary purposes of the current study were to determine if elementary-aged children with mild disabilities and children of typical development preferred making their own choices and whether observational learning influenced their choice making preferences. An additional question was to determine if preferences maintained without direct reinforcement and if changes in the quantity of reinforcement influenced preferences as well. The results indicated that a majority of the participants preferred to make their own choices (6 of the 9 participants). Observational learning only had a slight influence on preference for self-choice for 4 of the 6 participants who preferred choice. Interestingly, observational learning had a more robust influence on 2 of the 3 participants who preferred to defer their choices to others. The findings also indicated that changes in choice making that occurred during the observational learning phase only slightly maintained for 2 of the 4 participants who preferred self-choice but were fully maintained for the 2 participants who preferred to defer their choices to others. Finally, the amount of reinforcement influenced the choice making behavior of 7 of the 9 participants while the remaining 2 participants' choice making behavior was influenced by preference. The results are discussed with reference to the current literature on the conceptual underpinnings of choice. Additionally, limitations are posed and areas of future research and implications are highlighted.