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Engaging Mental Effort: Process- and Person-Based Reward Experiences, Effort Reinforcement Intervention, and Cascading Effects on Challenging Tasks
Who can join
Ages 9 to 13 · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome
Full eligibility 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)
About the study
Brief Summary: The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the influences of children's prior experiences with rewards following successes at school and interventions aimed at influencing children's preferences for challenging cognitive tasks.
The main questions this study aims to answer are as follows:
1. Does the frequency of process-based rewards (e.g., rewards for working hard) vs. outcomes-based rewards (i.e., rewards for a good grade) predict children's preferences for challenging cognitive tasks? 2. Does providing rewards for taking on effortful cognitive tasks increase children's preferences for challenging cognitive tasks more than providing rewards for performing well on cognitive tasks? 3. Does receiving rewards for taking on effortful cognitive tasks increase children's challenge-seeking in novel tasks and questionnaires relevant for academic achievement that have not been previously linked with rewards?
Participants will complete the following tasks:
1. A matrix completion problem solving task, with options to seek tips for solving problems and options to quit early. 2. A response inhibition task, with options to complete a harder or easier version of the task. 3. A cognitive flexibility task, with options to complete a harder or easier version of the task. 4. A puzzle completion task, with an option to quit early. 5. Answer a set of questions about academic effort 6. Parents will complete a set of questions about how they responded to children's recent successes and failures at school.
What is being tested
- Performance Rewards (behavioral)
- Effort Rewards (behavioral)
Sponsor: University of California, Davis · Participants: 180 · Started: Apr 8, 2026
Contact the study team
- Jesse C Niebaum, PhD · Phone: 530-752-1011
Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT07557732
Locations in the U.S.
| California | Center for Mind and Brain, Davis |
From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.