1
|
Frick A, Brandimonte MA, Chevalier N. Disentangling the Respective Contribution of Task Selection and Task Execution to Self-Directed Cognitive Control Development. Child Dev 2020; 92:1309-1324. [PMID: 33351210 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Task selection and task execution are key constructs in cognitive control development. Yet, little is known about how separable they are and how each contributes to task switching performance. Here, 60 4- to 5-year olds, 60 7- to 8-year olds, and 60 10- to 11-year olds children completed the double registration procedure, which dissociates these two processes. Task selection yielded both mixing and switch costs, especially in younger children, and task execution mostly yielded switch costs at all ages, suggesting that task selection is costlier than task execution. Moreover, both task selection and execution varied with task self-directedness (i.e., to what extent the task is driven by external aids) demands. Whereas task selection and task execution are dissociated regarding performance costs, they nevertheless both contribute to self-directed control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aurélien Frick
- University of Edinburgh.,Suor Orsola Benincasa University
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Buttelmann F, Karbach J. Development and Plasticity of Cognitive Flexibility in Early and Middle Childhood. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1040. [PMID: 28676784 PMCID: PMC5476931 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility, the ability to flexibly switch between tasks, is a core dimension of executive functions (EFs) allowing to control actions and to adapt flexibly to changing environments. It supports the management of multiple tasks, the development of novel, adaptive behavior and is associated with various life outcomes. Cognitive flexibility develops rapidly in preschool and continuously increases well into adolescence, mirroring the growth of neural networks involving the prefrontal cortex. Over the past decade, there has been increasing interest in interventions designed to improve cognitive flexibility in children in order to support the many developmental outcomes associated with cognitive flexibility. This article provides a brief review of the development and plasticity of cognitive flexibility across early and middle childhood (i.e., from preschool to elementary school age). Focusing on interventions designed to improve cognitive flexibility in typically developing children, we report evidence for significant training and transfer effects while acknowledging that current findings on transfer are heterogeneous. Finally, we introduce metacognitive training as a promising new approach to promote cognitive flexibility and to support transfer of training.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frances Buttelmann
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University FrankfurtFrankfurt, Germany.,Center for Research on Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk (IDeA),Frankfurt, Germany.,Department of Developmental Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University JenaJena, Germany
| | - Julia Karbach
- Department of Psychology, Goethe University FrankfurtFrankfurt, Germany.,Center for Research on Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk (IDeA),Frankfurt, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Koblenz-LandauLandau, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Chevalier N. The Development of Executive Function: Toward More Optimal Coordination of Control With Age. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
4
|
Chevalier N, Blaye A, Maintenant C. La représentation du but dans le contrôle exécutif chez l’enfant. PSYCHOLOGIE FRANCAISE 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.psfr.2013.09.002] [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]
|
5
|
Garcia C, Dick AS. Stuck in the moment: cognitive inflexibility in preschoolers following an extended time period. Front Psychol 2014; 4:959. [PMID: 24399978 PMCID: PMC3872041 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2013] [Accepted: 12/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Preschoolers display surprising inflexibility in problem solving, but seem to approach new challenges with a fresh slate. We provide evidence that while the former is true the latter is not. Here, we examined whether brief exposure to stimuli can influence children's problem solving following several weeks after first exposure to the stimuli. We administered a common executive function task, the Dimensional Change Card Sort, which requires children to sort picture cards by one dimension (e.g., color) and then switch to sort the same cards by a conflicting dimension (e.g., shape). After a week or after a month delay, we administered the second rule again. We found that 70% of preschoolers continued to sort by the initial sorting rule, even after a month delay, and even though they are explicitly told what to do. We discuss implications for theories of executive function development, and for classroom learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Garcia
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University Miami, FL, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Dauvier B, Chevalier N, Blaye A. Using finite mixture of GLMs to explore variability in children's flexibility in a task-switching paradigm. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2012.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|
8
|
Chevalier N, Sheffield TD, Nelson JM, Clark CAC, Wiebe SA, Espy KA. Underpinnings of the costs of flexibility in preschool children: the roles of inhibition and working memory. Dev Neuropsychol 2012; 37:99-118. [PMID: 22339225 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2011.632458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
This study addressed the respective contributions of inhibition and working memory to two underlying components of flexibility, goal representation (as assessed by mixing costs) and switch implementation (as assessed by local costs), across the preschool period. By later preschool age (4 years, 6 months and 5 years, 3 months), both inhibition and working-memory performance were associated with mixing costs, but not with local costs, whereas no relation was observed earlier (3 years, 9 months). The relations of inhibition and working memory to flexibility appear to emerge late in the preschool period and are mainly driven by goal representation.
Collapse
|
9
|
Abstract
It is now well established in the adult literature that the ability to engage in flexible thought and action is a complex skill that relies on a number of underlying processes. The development of this skill has received growing interest in recent years. However, theories explaining children's ability to switch between different tasks typically focus on a single underlying process and are rarely extended to explain development beyond the preschool years. This article reviews the current literature on set shifting in children in comparison with task switching in adults, in order to highlight the range of factors that impact on children's ability to flexibly shift between tasks. In doing this we hope to set the scene for future research that can begin to establish the relationships between these processes and how they change with age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lucy Cragg
- University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Nicolas Chevalier
- Office of Research and Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NB, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Burns P, Riggs KJ, Beck SR. Executive control and the experience of regret. J Exp Child Psychol 2011; 111:501-15. [PMID: 22115451 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2011.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2011] [Revised: 10/06/2011] [Accepted: 10/07/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The experience of regret rests on a counterfactual analysis of events. Previous research indicates that regret emerges at around 6 years of age, marginally later than the age at which children begin to answer counterfactual questions correctly. We hypothesized that the late emergence of regret relative to early counterfactual thinking is a result of the executive demands of simultaneously holding in mind and comparing dual representations of reality (counterfactual and actual). To test this hypothesis, we administered two regret tasks along with four tests of executive function (two working memory tasks, a switch task, and an inhibition task) to a sample of 104 4- to 7-year-olds. Results indicated that switching, but not working memory or inhibition, was a significant predictor of whether or not children experienced regret. This finding corroborates and extends previous research showing that the development of counterfactual thinking in children is related to their developing executive competence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Burns
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Chevalier N, Wiebe SA, Huber KL, Espy KA. Switch detection in preschoolers' cognitive flexibility. J Exp Child Psychol 2011; 109:353-70. [PMID: 21353678 PMCID: PMC3065531 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2011.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2010] [Revised: 01/11/2011] [Accepted: 01/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The current study addressed the role of switch detection in cognitive flexibility by testing the effect of transition cues (i.e., cues that directly signal the need to switch or maintain a given task goal) in a cued set-shifting paradigm at 5 years of age. Children performed better, especially on switch trials, when transition cues were combined with traditional task cues (i.e., cues that directly signal the relevant task on a given trial) relative to conditions without transition cues. This effect was not influenced by explicit knowledge of transition cues or transition cue transparency, suggesting that transition cues did not need to be semantically processed to be beneficial. These findings reveal that young children's difficulties in set-shifting situations stem partially from failures to monitor for the need to switch.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Chevalier
- Office of Research and Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
Blaye A, Chevalier N. The role of goal representation in preschoolers' flexibility and inhibition. J Exp Child Psychol 2010; 108:469-83. [PMID: 21122878 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2010.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2009] [Revised: 09/01/2010] [Accepted: 09/21/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
This study addressed the role of goal representation in preschoolers' inhibition and flexibility performance. A total of 56 4- and 5-year-olds were tested in an adapted version of the Shape School task where the difficulty of goal representation was manipulated by varying the degree of transparency of task cues. The findings showed that both age groups' performance in the flexibility phase was increased when demands on goal representation were alleviated by using transparent cues instead of arbitrary cues. Furthermore, 4-year-olds performed more accurately on go trials in the inhibition phase with transparent cues than with arbitrary cues. These results confirm the critical role of goal representation in flexibility and reveal its influence in inhibition contexts. Altogether, this study suggests that goal representation is a key element for efficient executive function across a variety of settings involving different executive functions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Agnès Blaye
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR 6146, Université de Provence, 13331 Marseille, France.
| | | |
Collapse
|