How rewards for effort versus performance change children's choices to take on challenging thinking tasks
Engaging Mental Effort: Process- and Person-Based Reward Experiences, Effort Reinforcement Intervention, and Cascading Effects on Challenging Tasks
This project tests whether 9–13-year-old children will choose harder thinking tasks more often when they are rewarded for effort (trying hard) versus rewarded for good performance.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 180 (estimated) |
| Ages | 9 Years to 13 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | University of California, Davis Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Davis, California) |
| Trial ID | NCT07557732 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
Typically developing children aged 9–13 complete two in-person sessions about a week apart where they do problem-solving and cognitive control tasks (matrix problems, response inhibition, task-switching) and an impossible-puzzle challenge. Participants are randomly assigned to receive rewards either for selecting harder tasks (effort rewards) or for performing well regardless of task choice (performance rewards), with choices and performance measured before, during, and after rewards. Parents complete questionnaires about how they respond to their child's successes and failures at school and about support for academic effort. The design tests whether effort-contingent rewards increase challenge-seeking and whether any changes carry over to novel tasks and academic-related measures.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Ideal participants are typically developing children aged 9 to 13 who can attend two in-person visits and whose parents can complete study questionnaires.
Not a fit: Children outside the 9–13 age range or those with diagnosed developmental disorders (for example autism, ADHD, or learning disabilities) are excluded and would not receive direct benefit from this protocol.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could inform ways parents and teachers use effort-based rewards to encourage children to take on and persist with challenging schoolwork.
How similar studies have performed: Prior work on process-based (effort) praise has found increased persistence and learning, though using structured rewards to shift challenge-seeking in these specific tasks is less extensively tested.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: \- Children aged 9.00-13.00 years Exclusion Criteria: * Known or diagnosed developmental disorder (autism, ADHD, other learning disorders or developmental delays)
Where this trial is running
Davis, California
- Center for Mind and Brain — Davis, California, United States (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Jesse C Niebaum, PhD
- Email: jcniebaum@ucdavis.edu
- Phone: 530-752-1011
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.