Early developments in the ability to understand the relation between stimulus and reward

Diamond, A., Churchland, A. K., Cruess, L., Kirkham, N. Z. (November 1999) Early developments in the ability to understand the relation between stimulus and reward. Developmental Psychology, 35 (6). pp. 1507-1517. ISSN 00121649 (ISSN)

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10563738
DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.35.6.1507

Abstract

Delayed nonmatching to sample (DNMS) is used to test the recognition memory function dependent on the medial temporal lobe. Children cannot succeed on this task until about 21 months. Because robust recognition is present well before then, the late emergence of another ability must account for the late success on DNMS. Evidence is presented here that the critical late-maturing competence is the ability to grasp the relation between stimulus and reward--that is, to understand that the stimulus is a symbol or marker for the reward. Infants of 9 and 12 months were tested on 3 conditions of DNMS. A sample object was presented. After a delay, the sample and a novel object appeared; choice of the novel object was rewarded. In the standard task, the reward was in a well beneath the stimulus. In the verbal-reward condition the reward was not a separate object but was praise and applause. In the Velcro condition, the reward, although a separate and separable object, was attached to the base of the stimulus. Most infants at both ages succeeded in the verbal-reward and Velcro conditions but not in the standard condition.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: adult age article child development child psychology cognition concept formation female human infant male physiology reward Age Factors Humans
Subjects: organism description > animal behavior
organism description > animal > developmental stage > child
organism description > animal behavior > memory
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Churchland lab
Depositing User: CSHL Librarian
Date: November 1999
Date Deposited: 20 Mar 2012 14:49
Last Modified: 03 Dec 2014 14:55
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/25462

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