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June 17, 2026PLoS ONEOpen Access

Children and adults differ in how primary and secondary incentives modulate valuation, effort, and cognitive control

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Authors

SVSebastijan VeseličUniversity of OxfordCSClaire Rosalie SmidUniversity College LondonFBFrancis BeveridgeUniversity College London

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Implication

Randomized trial examines reward types' impact on motivation and cognition in children and adults, suggesting age-based differences in motivation.

Key Points

  • To investigate how primary and secondary rewards influence valuation, effort, and cognitive control among children and adults.
  • Sample of 51 adults and 39 children, ages 7–12 years.
  • Three tasks assessed subjective valuation, cognitive effort, and cognitive control related to different types of rewards.
  • Comparison of response patterns between age groups regarding primary and secondary reinforcers.
  • Adults exhibited stronger effects from secondary reinforcers compared to primary reinforcers.
  • Children's responses showed no significant difference across reward types.
  • Findings suggest developmental variations in valuation of secondary rewards.

Cite This Study

Veselič et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a323e36d50b63ecad207907https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0351143
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