Developmental Behavioral Economics: Assessing Decision-Making in Children and Teens
Lycee International de Los Angeles
History
Since 2013, LABEL has been collaborating with LILA and has conducted several experimental sessions with its students across different grades from kindergarten to 12th grade.
What do we want to know?
We are trying to examine how development affects decision-making in children in two settings: individual decision-making and strategic interactions. Through our studies, we test existing theories on decision-making in children at different developmental stages with different paradigms.
How do we do it?
We develop fun tablet-based games that children play to study underlying mechanisms of behavior. The games are designed to stimulate children's thinking processes and also encourage creativity and curiosity.
Where can our research help?
Our studies help us understand more and more about the developmental trajectory of decision-making and to identify factors that promote better decisions and support better outcomes later in life. Our research results are used to inform policy and educational interventions around children and adolescents and how to better engage them in learning.
Compliance
The study methods have been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Southern California. All personnel volunteering in experiment administration are trained and certified to be around children and teens during the sessions.