Reinforcement of agents of action in doll play.

3 groups of preschool children, with 10 children each, participated in 3 sessions of experimental doll play in which either the use of adult or child dolls was consistently reinforced or the reinforcement was random. The adult reinforced group increased their use of adult dolls across the 3 sessions whereas the reinforcement effects on the specific use of child dolls were less clear. The latter finding is discussed in terms of the relationship between the Ss' awareness of a response and its reinforceability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)