Developmental Differences in Reinforcer Preference Value and in Learning-Set Performance under Inconsistent Reward

3 experiments were conducted to examine the relationship between developmental differences in reinforcer preference value and in learning-set performance. A second purpose was to investigate ontogenetic differences in the effects of experience with continuous but qualitatively inconsistent reward. When the same reward objects were used for kindergartners and fourth graders, with the consequence that preference value of the rewards increased between grade levels, developmental improvement in performance was observed. However, when rewards were equated in preference value between grade levels, no developmental differences in performance were found. Results also suggested that inconsistent reward leads to greater improvement across learning-set problems than does consistent reward.