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Moriguchi Y, Phillips S. Evaluating the Distinction between Cool and Hot Executive Function during Childhood. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13020313. [PMID: 36831856 PMCID: PMC9953946 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13020313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
This article assesses the cool-hot executive function (EF) framework during childhood. First, conceptual analyses suggest that cool EF (cEF) is generally distinguished from hot EF (hEF). Second, both EFs can be loaded into different factors using confirmatory factor analyses. Third, the cognitive complexity of EF is similar across cEF tasks, and the cognitive complexity of cEF is similar to hEF tasks. Finally, neuroimaging analysis suggests that children activate the lateral prefrontal regions during all EF tasks. Taken together, we propose that the cool-hot framework is a useful, though not definitive way of characterizing differences in EF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Moriguchi
- Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Yoshidahoncho, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +81-75-753-2852
| | - Steven Phillips
- Mathematical Neuroscience Group, Human Informatics and Interaction Research Group, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8566, Japan
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2
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Yanaoka K, Saito S. The Development of Learning, Performing, and Controlling Repeated Sequential Actions in Young Children. Top Cogn Sci 2021; 14:241-257. [PMID: 34125991 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Our daily lives are composed of several sequential actions that we perform routinely, such as making breakfast, taking a train, and changing clothes. Previous research has demonstrated that a routine system plays a role in performing and controlling repeated sequential actions in familiar situations, and a top-down control system involves the control of the routine system in novel situations. Specifically, most developmental studies have focused on the top-down control system (e.g., executive functions) as a factor enabling the control of goal-directed actions in novel situations. Yet, it has not been thoroughly examined how young children learn, perform, and control repeated sequential actions in familiar contexts. In this review, based on recent computational accounts for adults, we highlight two critical aspects of the routine system from a developmental perspective: (1) automatic flexible changes of contextual representations, which enables humans to select context-dependent actions appropriately; and (2) detection of deviant situations, which signals the need for control to avoid errors. In addition, we propose the developmental mechanism underlying the routine system and its potential driving factors such as statistical regularities and executive functions. Finally, we suggest that an investigation into the interplay between routine and executive functions can form foundations for understanding learning, performing, and controlling repeated sequential actions in young children and discuss future directions in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaichi Yanaoka
- Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo.,Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
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3
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Perone S, Simmering VR, Buss AT. A Dynamical Reconceptualization of Executive-Function Development. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2021; 16:1198-1208. [PMID: 33593126 DOI: 10.1177/1745691620966792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Executive function plays a foundational role in everyday behaviors across the life span. The theoretical understanding of executive-function development, however, is still a work in progress. Doebel proposed that executive-function development reflects skills using control in the service of behavior-using mental content such as knowledge and beliefs to guide behavior in a context-specific fashion. This liberating view contrasts with modular views of executive function. This new view resembles some older dynamic-systems concepts that long ago proposed that behavior reflects the assembly of multiple pieces in context. We dig into this resemblance and evaluate what else dynamic-systems theory adds to the understanding of executive-function development. We describe core dynamic-systems concepts and apply them to executive function-as conceptualized by Doebel-and through this lens explain the multilevel nature of goal-directed behavior and how a capacity to behave in a goal-directed fashion across contexts emerges over development. We then describe a dynamic systems model of goal-directed behavior during childhood and, finally, address broader theoretical implications of dynamic-systems theory and propose new translational implications for fostering children's capacity to behave in a goal-directed fashion across everyday contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sammy Perone
- Department of Human Development, Washington State University
| | | | - Aaron T Buss
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee
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4
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Buss AT, Nikam B. Not all labels develop equally: The role of labels in guiding attention to dimensions. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2020; 53. [PMID: 32863570 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2019.100843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The emergence of cognitive flexibility is a central aspect of cognitive development during early childhood. Cognitive flexibility is often probed using verbal rules to instruct behavior. In this study, the types of labels that were provided during instruction were manipulated. In one condition, children were instructed in the standard manner with dimensional labels (e.g., "shape") and featural labels (e.g., "star"). In a second condition, children were provided only with dimensional labels. When switching to color, 4-year-olds performed equally well regardless of the type of instruction. However, when switching to shape, children perseverated at a significantly higher rate when only dimensional labels were provided. These results suggest that children's understanding of labels is a critical aspect of developing cognitive flexibility and that their understanding of the labels "shape" and "color" are different.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron T Buss
- University of Tennessee - Knoxville, Department of Psychology
| | - Bhoomika Nikam
- University of Tennessee - Knoxville, Department of Psychology
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5
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Moriguchi Y, Sakata C. Development of Cognitive Shifting from Others’ Behavior in Young Children: A Near-infrared Spectroscopy Study. Dev Neuropsychol 2019; 45:39-47. [DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2019.1710512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Chifumi Sakata
- Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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6
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Crespo K, Gross M, Kaushanskaya M. The effects of dual language exposure on executive function in Spanish-English bilingual children with different language abilities. J Exp Child Psychol 2019; 188:104663. [PMID: 31446311 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The current study examined the effects of dual language exposure on executive function in 5- to 11-year-old Spanish-English bilingual children with different language skills. Dual language exposure was measured via parent report and was operationalized as the proportion of time spent in an environment where both English and Spanish were present. Executive function was measured via the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. Shifting costs, switching costs, and mixing costs were derived to index executive function performance. A significant interaction between extent of dual language exposure and language skills was observed such that children showed smaller shifting and mixing costs with increased dual language input as their language skills increased. The results suggest a graded effect of dual language exposure on executive function, where a robust language system may be required for dual language exposure to influence executive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly Crespo
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
| | - Megan Gross
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Margarita Kaushanskaya
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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7
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García Coni A, Ison M, Vivas J. Conceptual flexibility in school children: Switching between taxonomic and thematic relations. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2019.100827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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8
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Two-year-olds' executive functioning: The influence of task-specific vocabulary knowledge. Infant Behav Dev 2018; 53:33-42. [PMID: 30268336 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2018.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2018] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Although many executive function (EF) tasks require only nonverbal responses, the language used by experimenters to explain the task may be important for young children's EF task performance. This study investigated how the vocabulary used in explaining an EF task affects 2-year-olds' performance. Experiment 1 used the standard instructions for the Reverse Categorization Task, in which children are asked to sort different-sized blocks into different-sized buckets according to one rule and then switch to a new rule. In Experiment 2, the task remained the same, but different instructions requiring less knowledge of size words were used. Children's productive vocabulary was assessed in both experiments but was only correlated with task performance in Experiment 1. These results suggest that task-specific vocabulary knowledge may play a role in children's performance on tasks designed to measure nonverbal cognitive ability.
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Landry O, Al-Taie S, Franklin A. 3-Year-Olds’ Perseveration on the DCCS Explained: A Meta-Analysis. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2017.1345910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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10
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Benitez VL, Vales C, Hanania R, Smith LB. Sustained selective attention predicts flexible switching in preschoolers. J Exp Child Psychol 2016; 156:29-42. [PMID: 28024178 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Revised: 09/28/2016] [Accepted: 11/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Stability and flexibility are fundamental to an intelligent cognitive system. Here, we examined the relationship between stability in selective attention and explicit control of flexible attention. Preschoolers were tested on the Dimension Preference (DP) task, which measures the stability of selective attention to an implicitly primed dimension, and the Dimension Change Card Sort (DCCS) task, which measures flexible attention switching between dimensions. Children who successfully switched on the DCCS task were more likely than those who perseverated to sustain attention to the primed dimension on the DP task across trials. We propose that perseverators have less stable attention and distribute their attention between dimensions, whereas switchers can successfully stabilize attention to individual dimensions and, thus, show more enduring priming effects. Flexible attention may emerge, in part, from implicit processes that stabilize attention even in tasks not requiring switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viridiana L Benitez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| | - Catarina Vales
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Rima Hanania
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Linda B Smith
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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11
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Bremner AJ, Mareschal D, Destrebecqz A, Cleeremans A. Cognitive Control of Sequential Knowledge in 2-Year-Olds. Psychol Sci 2016; 18:261-6. [PMID: 17444924 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01886.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Under incidental instructions, thirty-eight 2-year-olds were trained on a six-element deterministic sequence of spatial locations. Following training, subjects were informed of the presence of a sequence and asked to either reproduce or suppress the learned material. Children's production of the trained sequence was modulated by these instructions. When asked to suppress the trained sequence, the children were able to increase generation of paths that were not from the training sequence. Their performance was thus dependent on active suppression of knowledge, rather than on a random generation strategy. This degree of control in 2-year-olds stands in stark contrast to 3-year-olds∗ failure to control explicitly instructed rule-based knowledge (as measured by the dimensional-change card-sort task). We suggest that the incidental nature of a learning episode enables the acquisition of a more procedural form of knowledge with which this age group has more experience prior to the onset of fluent language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Bremner
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
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12
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Doebel S, Zelazo PD. Seeing conflict and engaging control: Experience with contrastive language benefits executive function in preschoolers. Cognition 2016; 157:219-226. [PMID: 27658118 PMCID: PMC5143180 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2016.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2015] [Revised: 09/10/2016] [Accepted: 09/13/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Engaging executive function often requires overriding a prepotent response in favor of a conflicting but adaptive one. Language may play a key role in this ability by supporting integrated representations of conflicting rules. We tested whether experience with contrastive language that could support such representations benefits executive function in 3-year-old children. Children who received brief experience with language highlighting contrast between objects, attributes, and actions showed greater executive function on two of three 'conflict' executive function tasks than children who received experience with contrasting stimuli only and children who read storybooks with the experimenter, controlling for baseline executive function. Experience with contrasting stimuli did not benefit executive function relative to reading books with the experimenter, indicating experience with contrastive language, rather than experience with contrast generally, was key. Experience with contrastive language also boosted spontaneous attention to contrast, consistent with improvements in representing contrast. These findings indicate a role for language in executive function that is consistent with the Cognitive Complexity and Control theory's key claim that coordinating conflicting rules is critical to overcoming perseveration, and suggest new ideas for testing theories of executive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Doebel
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado - Boulder, United States.
| | - Philip David Zelazo
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States
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Doebel S, Zelazo PD. A meta-analysis of the Dimensional Change Card Sort: Implications for developmental theories and the measurement of executive function in children. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2015; 38:241-268. [PMID: 26955206 DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2015.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) is a widely used measure of executive function in children. In the standard version, children are shown cards depicting objects that vary on two dimensions (e.g., colored shapes such as red rabbits and blue boats), and are told to sort them first by one set of rules (e.g., shape) and then by another (e.g., color). Most 3-year-olds persist in sorting by the pre-switch rules, whereas 5-year-olds switch flexibly. We conducted a meta-analysis of standard and experimental versions of the task (N = 69 reports, 426 conditions) to examine the influence of diverse task variations on performance. Age, how the test stimuli were labeled for the child, emphasis on conflict in the verbal introduction of the post-switch rules, and the number of pre-switch trials each independently predicted switching on the standard DCCS, whereas pre-switch feedback, practice, and task modality did not. Increasing the relative salience of the post-switch dimension was associated with higher rates of switching, and, conversely, decreasing post-switch salience was associated with lower rates of switching, and under both kinds of manipulation performance continued to be associated with age. Spatially separating the dimensional values was associated with higher rates of switching, and it was confirmed that the degree of spatial separation matters, with children benefiting most when the dimensional values are fully spatially segregated. Switch rates tended to be higher in versions on which children were prompted to label the stimuli compared to when the experimenter provided labels, and lower when reversal instructions were used in conjunction with the standard task stimuli. Theoretical and practical implications for the study and measurement of executive function in early childhood are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Doebel
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado - Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Philip David Zelazo
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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14
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Freier L, Cooper RP, Mareschal D. The planning and execution of natural sequential actions in the preschool years. Cognition 2015; 144:58-66. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2015.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2015] [Revised: 05/21/2015] [Accepted: 07/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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15
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Freier L, Cooper RP, Mareschal D. Preschool children's control of action outcomes. Dev Sci 2015; 20. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2014] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Livia Freier
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development; Department of Psychological Sciences; Birkbeck University of London; UK
| | - Richard P. Cooper
- Centre for Cognition, Computation and Modelling; Department of Psychological Sciences; Birkbeck University of London; UK
| | - Denis Mareschal
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development; Department of Psychological Sciences; Birkbeck University of London; UK
- Centre for Cognition, Computation and Modelling; Department of Psychological Sciences; Birkbeck University of London; UK
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16
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Abstract
Emerging executive function in childhood, one of the main predictors of major life success, is goal-directed in nature. Yet children’s ability to identify goals (i.e., what should be done) has been underresearched, often because of implicit assumptions that it is trivial even in early childhood. In contrast, I review evidence for goal identification as a major force behind developing executive function. Both increasing attention to environmental cues and increased goal inferencing from these cues drive goal-identification improvement with age. This framework has important implications for assessing and supporting executive function in childhood.
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17
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Deák GO, Wiseheart M. Cognitive flexibility in young children: General or task-specific capacity? J Exp Child Psychol 2015; 138:31-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2015.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2014] [Revised: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 04/11/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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18
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Mahy CEV, Munakata Y. Transitions in Executive Function: Insights From Developmental Parallels Between Prospective Memory and Cognitive Flexibility. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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19
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Darby KP, Sloutsky VM. The cost of learning: interference effects in memory development. J Exp Psychol Gen 2015; 144:410-31. [PMID: 25688907 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Learning often affects future learning and memory for previously learned information by exerting either facilitation or interference effects. Several theoretical accounts of interference effects have been proposed, each making different developmental predictions. This research examines interference effects across development, with the goal of better understanding mechanisms of interference and of memory development. Preschool-aged children and adults participated in a 3-phased associative learning paradigm containing stimuli that were either unique or repeated across phases. Both age groups demonstrated interference effects, but only for repeated items. Whereas proactive interference effects were comparable across age groups, retroactive interference reached catastrophic-like levels in children. Additionally, retroactive interference increased in adults when contextual differences between phases were minimized (Experiment 2), and decreased in adults who were more successful at encoding repeated pairs of stimuli during a training phase (Experiment 3). These results are discussed with respect to theories of memory and memory development.
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20
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Holt AE, Deák G. Children's Task-Switching Efficiency: Missing Our Cue? JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2013.833921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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21
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Minier L, Blaye A, Maugard A, Fagot J, Glady Y, Thibaut JP. Rôle du contrôle exécutif dans le raisonnement par analogie chez l’enfant et le primate non humain. PSYCHOLOGIE FRANCAISE 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.psfr.2013.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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22
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Ganea PA, Saylor MM. Representational Constraints on Language Development: Thinking and Learning About Absent Things. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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23
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Doebel S, Zelazo PD. Bottom-up and top-down dynamics in young children's executive function: Labels aid 3-year-olds' performance on the Dimensional Change Card Sort. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2013; 28:222-232. [PMID: 24882942 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2012.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Executive function (EF) improves between the ages of 3 and 5 and has been assessed reliably using the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS), a task in which children first sort bivalent cards by one dimension (e.g., shape) and then are instructed to sort by a different dimension (e.g., color). Three-year-olds typically perseverate on the pre-switch dimension, whereas 5-year-olds switch flexibly. Labeling task stimuli can facilitate EF performance (Jacques & Zelazo, 2005; Kirkham, Cruess, & Diamond, 2003), but the nature of this effect is unclear. In 3 experiments we examined 2 hypotheses deriving from different theoretical perspectives: first, that labels facilitate performance in a more bottom-up fashion, by biasing attention to relevant task rules (Kirkham et al., 2003); and second, that labels aid performance in a more top-down fashion by prompting reflection and an understanding of the hierarchical nature of the task (Zelazo, 2004). Children performed better on the DCCS when labels referred to the relevant sorting dimension (Experiment 1). This was a function of the content of the labels rather than the change in auditory signal across phases (Experiment 2). Furthermore, labeling the opposite dimension only did not have a symmetrically negative effect on performance (Experiment 3). Together, these results suggest external, verbal labels bias children to attend to task-relevant information, likely through interaction with emerging top-down, endogenous control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Doebel
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States
| | - Philip David Zelazo
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States
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24
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Lourenco F, Casey BJ. Adjusting behavior to changing environmental demands with development. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:2233-42. [PMID: 23518271 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2012] [Revised: 03/07/2013] [Accepted: 03/11/2013] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Plasticity refers to changes in the brain that enable an organism to adapt its behavior in the face of changing environmental demands. The evolutionary role of plasticity is to provide the cognitive flexibility to learn from experiences, to monitor the world based on learned predictions, and adjust actions when these predictions are violated. Both progressive (myelination) and regressive (synaptic pruning) brain changes support this type of adaptation. Experience-driven changes in neural connections underlie the ability to learn and update thoughts and behaviors throughout life. Many cognitive and behavioral indices exhibit nonlinear life-span trajectories, suggesting the existence of specific sensitive developmental periods of heightened plasticity. We propose that age-related differences in learning capabilities and behavioral performance reflect the distinct maturational timetable of subcortical learning systems and modulatory prefrontal regions. We focus specifically on the developmental transition of adolescence, during which individuals experience difficulty flexibly adjusting their behavior when confronted with unexpected and emotionally salient events. In this article, we review the findings illustrating this phenomenon and how they vary by individual.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederico Lourenco
- Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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25
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Ramscar M, Dye M, Gustafson JW, Klein J. Dual routes to cognitive flexibility: learning and response-conflict resolution in the dimensional change card sort task. Child Dev 2013; 84:1308-23. [PMID: 23311677 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive control, the ability to align our actions with goals or context, is largely absent in children under four. How then are preschoolers able to tailor their behavior to best match the situation? Learning may provide an alternative route to context-sensitive responding. This study investigated this hypothesis in the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS), a classic test of cognitive control that most under-fours fail. A training intervention based on learning theoretic principles proved highly effective: Three-year-olds who learned about DCCS rules and game contexts in a card-labeling task, subsequently transferred this knowledge to sorting in the DCCS, passing at more than 3 times the rate of controls (N = 47). This surprising finding reveals much about the nature of the developing mind.
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26
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Early limits on the verbal updating of an object’s location. J Exp Child Psychol 2013; 114:89-101. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2012.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2012] [Revised: 04/19/2012] [Accepted: 04/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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27
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Chatham CH, Yerys BE, Munakata Y. Why won't you do what I want? The informative failures of children and models. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2012; 27:349-366. [PMID: 24453404 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2012.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Computational models are powerful tools - too powerful, according to some. We argue that the idea that models can "do anything" is wrong, and describe how their failures have been informative. We present new work showing surprising diversity in the effects of feedback on children's task-switching, such that some children perseverate despite this feedback, other children switch as instructed, and yet others play an "opposites" game without truly switching to the newly-instructed task. We present simulations that demonstrate the failure of an otherwise-successful neural network model to capture this failure of children. Simulating this pattern motivates the inclusion of updating mechanisms that make contact with a growing literature on frontostriatal function, despite their absence in extant theories of the development of cognitive flexibility. We argue from this and other examples that computational models are more constrained than is typically acknowledged, and that their resulting failures can be theoretically illuminating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher H Chatham
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence RI, USA
| | - Benjamin E Yerys
- Department of Neurosciences, Children's National Medical Center, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington DC, USA
| | - Yuko Munakata
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder CO, USA
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Munakata Y, Snyder HR, Chatham CH. Developing Cognitive Control: Three Key Transitions. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2012; 21:71-77. [PMID: 22711982 DOI: 10.1177/0963721412436807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 189] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The ability to flexibly break out of routine behaviors develops gradually and is essential for success in life. We discuss three key developmental transitions toward more flexible behavior. First, children develop an increasing ability to overcome habits by engaging cognitive control in response to environmental signals. Second, children shift from recruiting cognitive control reactively, as needed in the moment, to recruiting cognitive control proactively, in preparation for needing it. Third, children shift from relying on environmental signals for engaging cognitive control to becoming more self-directed. All three transitions can be understood in terms of the development of increasingly active and abstract goal representations in prefrontal cortex.
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Buss AT, Spencer JP. When seeing is knowing: the role of visual cues in the dissociation between children's rule knowledge and rule use. J Exp Child Psychol 2012; 111:561-9. [PMID: 22176927 PMCID: PMC3253883 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2011.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2011] [Revised: 11/09/2011] [Accepted: 11/10/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task requires children to switch from sorting cards based on shape or color to sorting based on the other dimension. Typically, 3-year-olds perseverate, whereas 4-year-olds flexibly sort by different dimensions. Zelazo and colleagues (1996, Cognitive Development, 11, 37-63) asked children questions about the postswitch rules and found an apparent dissociation between rule knowledge and rule use, namely that 3-year-olds demonstrate accurate knowledge of the postswitch rules despite sorting cards incorrectly. Here, we show that children's success with these questions is grounded in their use of available visual cues; children who fail sorting use the target cards to correctly answer questions, and when the cards are unavailable they guess. This suggests that there might not be a dissociation between children's rule knowledge and rule use in the DCCS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron T Buss
- Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
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30
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Espinet SD, Anderson JE, Zelazo PD. N2 amplitude as a neural marker of executive function in young children: an ERP study of children who switch versus perseverate on the Dimensional Change Card Sort. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2012; 2 Suppl 1:S49-58. [PMID: 22682910 PMCID: PMC6987664 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2011.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2011] [Revised: 11/22/2011] [Accepted: 12/02/2011] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
To explore the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying individual differences in executive function during the preschool years, high-density electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record event-related potentials (ERPs) from 99 children (between 35 and 54 months of age) during performance on the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS), a widely used measure of executive function in which participants are required to sort bivalent stimuli first by one dimension and then by another. ERP analyses comparing children who switched flexibly (passed) to those who perseverated on post-switch trials (failed) focused on the N2 component, which was maximal over fronto-central sites. N2 amplitude was smaller (less negative) for children who passed the DCCS than for children who failed, suggesting that the N2, often associated with conflict monitoring, may serve as a neural marker of individual differences in executive function. Implications for learning and education are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jacob E. Anderson
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, United States
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31
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Jordan PL, Morton JB. Perseveration and the status of 3-year-olds' knowledge in a card-sorting task: evidence from studies involving congruent flankers. J Exp Child Psychol 2011; 111:52-64. [PMID: 21862034 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2011.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2010] [Revised: 06/22/2011] [Accepted: 06/22/2011] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Infants and young children often perseverate despite apparent knowledge of the correct response. Two Experiments addressed questions concerning the status of such knowledge in the context of a card-sorting task. In Experiment 1, three groups of 3-year-olds sorted bivalent cards one way and then were instructed to switch and sort the same cards using new rules under varying conditions of support offered by congruent flankers. Although formal aspects of the task such as higher-order rule use, stimulus redescription, and dimensional shifting remained constant across all conditions, use of the new rules increased with parametric increases in environmental support for the use of the new rules. In Experiment 2, 3-year-olds were more likely to switch and use new rules when test stimuli were flanked by congruent flankers rather than neutral flankers, even though both conditions made equivalent demands on attentional inhibition. Thus, in both experiments, children's knowledge of the new rules proved to be adequate under less demanding conditions but inadequate under more demanding conditions. These findings are consistent with the idea that children's knowledge is graded in strength rather than present or absent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia L Jordan
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 3K7.
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32
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Tottenham N, Hare TA, Casey BJ. Behavioral assessment of emotion discrimination, emotion regulation, and cognitive control in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Front Psychol 2011; 2:39. [PMID: 21716604 PMCID: PMC3110936 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 170] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2010] [Accepted: 02/24/2011] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotion discrimination, emotion regulation, and cognitive control are three related, yet separable processes that emerge over the course of development. The current study tested 100 children, adolescents, and adults on an Emotional Go/Nogo task, illustrating the ability of this paradigm to identify the unique developmental patterns for each of these three processes in the context of both positive (happy) and negative emotions (fear, sad, and anger), across three different age groups. Consistent with previous literature, our findings show that emotion discrimination and regulatory abilities (both cognitive control and emotion regulation) improve steadily for each age group, with each age group showing unique patterns of performance. The findings suggest that emotion regulation is constructed from basic cognition control and emotion discrimination skills. The patterns of behavior from the Emotional Go/Nogo task provide normative benchmark data across a wide range of emotions that can be used for future behavioral and neuroimaging studies that examine the developmental construction of emotion regulatory processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nim Tottenham
- Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Casey B, Jones RM, Somerville LH. Braking and Accelerating of the Adolescent Brain. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE 2011; 21:21-33. [PMID: 21475613 PMCID: PMC3070306 DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00712.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 282] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Adolescence is a developmental period often characterized as a time of impulsive and risky choices leading to increased incidence of unintentional injuries and violence, alcohol and drug abuse, unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Traditional neurobiological and cognitive explanations for such suboptimal choices and actions have failed to account for nonlinear changes in behavior observed during adolescence, relative to childhood and adulthood. This review provides a biologically plausible conceptualization of the mechanisms underlying these nonlinear changes in behavior, as an imbalance between a heightened sensitivity to motivational cues and immature cognitive control. Recent human imaging and animal studies provide a biological basis for this view, suggesting differential development of subcortical limbic systems relative to top-down control systems during adolescence relative to childhood and adulthood. This work emphasizes the importance of examining transitions into and out of adolescence and highlights emerging avenues of future research on adolescent brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bj Casey
- Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY USA
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Marcovitch S, Leigh J, Calkins SD, Leerkes EM, O’Brien M, Blankson AN. Moderate vagal withdrawal in 3.5-year-old children is associated with optimal performance on executive function tasks. Dev Psychobiol 2010; 52:603-8. [PMID: 20806334 PMCID: PMC3004152 DOI: 10.1002/dev.20462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Vagal tone (measured via respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) and vagal withdrawal (measured by decreases in RSA) have been identified as physiological measures of self-regulation, but little is known how they may relate to the regulation of cognitive activity as measured through executive function (EF) tasks. We expected that baseline measures of vagal tone, thought to be an indicator of attention, would correlate with EF performance. We also predicted that vagal withdrawal would allow for the reorientation of attention that is needed to succeed on EF tasks, but too much withdrawal would be detrimental. RSA measured at baseline was indeed related to EF performance in 220 3.5-year-old children, and those who exhibited a moderate decrease in RSA during the EF tasks outperformed children whose RSA decreased by too little or too much. These findings implicate vagal tone withdrawal as a psychophysiological measure of higher cognitive processes, most likely substantiated through increases in the levels of focused attention.
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Abstract
We review and relate two literatures on the development of attention in children: one concerning flexible attention switching and the other concerning selective attention. The first is a growing literature on preschool children's performances in an attention-switching task indicating that children become more flexible in their attentional control during the preschool years. The second literature encompasses a large and robust set of phenomena for the same developmental period that indicates a protracted course of development for selective attention in children. We ask whether developmental changes in processes of selective attention may contribute to more flexible attention switching. We consider the two sets of phenomena with respect to this question and propose an empirical agenda for their joint study that may lead ultimately to a unified account of the development of selective attention and attention switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rima Hanania
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
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36
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Rougier NP, O'Reilly RC. Learning representations in a gated prefrontal cortex model of dynamic task switching. Cogn Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1207/s15516709cog2604_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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37
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Lewis C, Carpendale JIM. Introduction: Links between social interaction and executive function. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 2009; 2009:1-15. [DOI: 10.1002/cd.232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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38
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Le développement de la flexibilité cognitive chez l’enfant préscolaire : enjeux théoriques. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2009. [DOI: 10.4074/s0003503306004040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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39
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Blackwell KA, Cepeda NJ, Munakata Y. When simple things are meaningful: working memory strength predicts children's cognitive flexibility. J Exp Child Psychol 2009; 103:241-9. [PMID: 19278688 PMCID: PMC2737814 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2009.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2008] [Revised: 01/12/2009] [Accepted: 01/13/2009] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
People often perseverate, repeating outdated behaviors despite correctly answering questions about rules they should be following. Children who perseverate are slower to respond to such questions than children who successfully switch to new rules, even after controlling for age and processing speed. Thus, switchers may have stronger working memory strength than perseverators, with stronger rule representations supporting both flexible switching and faster responses to questions. Alternatively, better inhibitory abilities may support switchers' faster responses by helping to resolve conflict. The current study tested these accounts using a new one-dimensional card sort. Even with all possible sources of conflict removed, switchers still responded faster than perseverators to questions about rules, supporting the graded working memory account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine A Blackwell
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
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40
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Marcovitch S, Zelazo PD. A hierarchical competing systems model of the emergence and early development of executive function. Dev Sci 2009. [PMID: 19120405 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467‐7687.2008.00754.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The hierarchical competing systems model (HCSM) provides a framework for understanding the emergence and early development of executive function--the cognitive processes underlying the conscious control of behavior--in the context of search for hidden objects. According to this model, behavior is determined by the joint influence of a developmentally invariant habit system and a conscious representational system that becomes increasingly influential as children develop. This article describes a computational formalization of the HCSM, reviews behavioral and computational research consistent with the model, and suggests directions for future research on the development of executive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Marcovitch
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA.
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41
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Marcovitch S, Zelazo PD. A hierarchical competing systems model of the emergence and early development of executive function. Dev Sci 2009. [PMID: 19120405 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467–7687.2008.00754.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The hierarchical competing systems model (HCSM) provides a framework for understanding the emergence and early development of executive function--the cognitive processes underlying the conscious control of behavior--in the context of search for hidden objects. According to this model, behavior is determined by the joint influence of a developmentally invariant habit system and a conscious representational system that becomes increasingly influential as children develop. This article describes a computational formalization of the HCSM, reviews behavioral and computational research consistent with the model, and suggests directions for future research on the development of executive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Marcovitch
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA.
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42
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Marcovitch S, Zelazo PD. A hierarchical competing systems model of the emergence and early development of executive function. Dev Sci 2009; 12:1-18. [PMID: 19120405 PMCID: PMC2842568 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00754.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The hierarchical competing systems model (HCSM) provides a framework for understanding the emergence and early development of executive function--the cognitive processes underlying the conscious control of behavior--in the context of search for hidden objects. According to this model, behavior is determined by the joint influence of a developmentally invariant habit system and a conscious representational system that becomes increasingly influential as children develop. This article describes a computational formalization of the HCSM, reviews behavioral and computational research consistent with the model, and suggests directions for future research on the development of executive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Marcovitch
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA.
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43
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Chevalier N, Blaye A. Cognitive flexibility in preschoolers: the role of representation activation and maintenance. Dev Sci 2008; 11:339-53. [PMID: 18466368 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00679.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Preschoolers' lack of cognitive flexibility has often been attributed to perseverative processing. This study investigates alternative potential sources of difficulty such as deficits in activating previously ignored information and in maintaining currently relevant information. In Experiment 1, a new task tapping attentional switching was designed to isolate the difficulty of overriding an initial representation, that is, perseverative processing ('Perseveration' version), and the difficulty of activating a previously ignored representation, that is, activation deficit ('Activation-deficit' version). Three-year-olds' performance suggested that inflexibility may primarily stem from an activation deficit. Control experiments confirmed that the difficulty of the 'Activation-deficit' version could not be attributed to the effect of attraction to novelty. In Experiment 2, 'distraction' errors, alleged to reflect a failure to maintain a relevant representation, and 'perseverative' errors were distinguished. The results highlighted the important role of representation maintenance in flexibility. The present study indicates that preschoolers' lack of cognitive flexibility is multi-determined and prompts us to reconsider the role of perseveration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Chevalier
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, University of Provence, France.
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44
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Müller U, Zelazo PD, Lurye LE, Liebermann DP. The effect of labeling on preschool children's performance in the Dimensional Change Card Sort Task. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2008.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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45
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Abstract
Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by suboptimal decisions and actions that are associated with an increased incidence of unintentional injuries, violence, substance abuse, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. Traditional neurobiological and cognitive explanations for adolescent behavior have failed to account for the nonlinear changes in behavior observed during adolescence, relative to both childhood and adulthood. This review provides a biologically plausible model of the neural mechanisms underlying these nonlinear changes in behavior. We provide evidence from recent human brain imaging and animal studies that there is a heightened responsiveness to incentives and socioemotional contexts during this time, when impulse control is still relatively immature. These findings suggest differential development of bottom-up limbic systems, implicated in incentive and emotional processing, to top-down control systems during adolescence as compared to childhood and adulthood. This developmental pattern may be exacerbated in those adolescents prone to emotional reactivity, increasing the likelihood of poor outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- B J Casey
- Sackler Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, Box 140, New York, NY 10021, USA.
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46
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Abstract
Advanced inhibitory control skills have been found in bilingual speakers as compared to monolingual controls (Bialystok, 1999). We examined whether this effect is generalized to an unstudied language group (Spanish-English bilingual) and multiple measures of executive function by administering a battery of tasks to 50 kindergarten children drawn from three language groups: native bilinguals, monolinguals (English), and English speakers enrolled in second-language immersion kindergarten. Despite having significantly lower verbal scores and parent education/income level, Spanish-English bilingual children's raw scores did not differ from their peers. After statistically controlling for these factors and age, native bilingual children performed significantly better on the executive function battery than both other groups. Importantly, the relative advantage was significant for tasks that appear to call for managing conflicting attentional demands (Conflict tasks); there was no advantage on impulse-control (Delay tasks). These results advance our understanding of both the generalizability and specificity of the compensatory effects of bilingual experience for children's cognitive development.
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47
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Why do children perseverate when they seem to know better: graded working memory, or directed inhibition? Psychon Bull Rev 2008; 14:1058-65. [PMID: 18229475 DOI: 10.3758/bf03193091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Children sometimes have trouble switching from one task to another, despite demonstrating an awareness of current task demands. This behavior could reflect problems either directly inhibiting previously relevant information or sufficiently activating graded working me mory representations forthe current task. We tested competing predictions from each account, using a computerized card-sorting task in which we assessed children's task switching abilities and their response speed to simple questions about current task demands. All children answered these questions correctly, but children who successfully switched tasks responded more quickly to questions than did children who perseverated on previous tasks, even after factoring out processing speed and age. This reaction time difference supports graded working memory accounts, with stronger representations of current task demands aiding both task-switching and responses to questions. This result poses a challenge for directed inhibition accounts, because nothing needs to be inhibited to answer simple questions that lack conflicting information.
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48
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Abstract
Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by suboptimal decisions and actions that give rise to an increased incidence of unintentional injuries and violence, alcohol and drug abuse, unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Traditional neurobiological and cognitive explanations for adolescent behavior have failed to account for the nonlinear changes in behavior observed during adolescence, relative to childhood and adulthood. This review provides a biologically plausible conceptualization of the neural mechanisms underlying these nonlinear changes in behavior, as a heightened responsiveness to incentives while impulse control is still relatively immature during this period. Recent human imaging and animal studies provide a biological basis for this view, suggesting differential development of limbic reward systems relative to top-down control systems during adolescence relative to childhood and adulthood. This developmental pattern may be exacerbated in those adolescents with a predisposition toward risk-taking, increasing the risk for poor outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- B.J. Casey
- Sackler Institute, Weill Medical College of Cornell University,1300 York Avenue, Box 140, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Sarah Getz
- Sackler Institute, Weill Medical College of Cornell University,1300 York Avenue, Box 140, New York, NY 10021, USA
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49
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Marcovitch S, Boseovski JJ, Knapp RJ. Use it or lose it: examining preschoolers' difficulty in maintaining and executing a goal. Dev Sci 2007; 10:559-64. [PMID: 17683342 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00611.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with low working memory capacity (e.g. preschoolers) are more prone to goal neglect, or a failure to execute a goal even though it is understood. We examined the role of goal neglect in performance on the Dimensional Change Card Sort by including 'redundant' cards that could be sorted without attending to the rules, as well as the traditional 'conflict' cards that encouraged awareness of the rules. In Experiment 1, 4- and 5-year-old children were administered two card sorts that differed on the proportion of redundant cards presented (20% vs. 80%). Children neglected the goal more often when faced with a preponderance of redundant cards, suggesting that consistent attention to the rules leads to goal maintenance. In Experiment 2, results were replicated even when the post-switch rules were repeated on every trial. Implications for the development of working memory are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Marcovitch
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA.
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50
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