Decision-making in children in the Hungry Donkey Test: A behavioral analysis.

This study analyzed choice behavior in the Hungry Donkey Task, with a focus on learning trajectories and the stability of preference, in 100 children of different ages (8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15, and 16-17 years old). The results indicated that (a) learning occurred as the task progressed, (b) early adolescents performed poorly during the task, and (c) most of the participants did not reach the stability criterion during the task. The present study suggests that decision-making in children and adolescents varies with age, and that the inclusion of an operant-based approach (e.g., the use of stability criterion) may improve methods for evaluating decision-making in children.