Switching between spatial stimulus-response mappings: a developmental study of cognitive flexibility.
Four different age groups (8-9-year-olds, 11-12-year-olds, 13-15-year-olds and young adults) performed a spatial rule-switch task in which the sorting rule had to be detected on the basis of feedback or on the basis of switch cues. Performance errors were examined on the basis of a recently introduced method of error scoring for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST; Barcelo & Knight, 2002). This method allowed us to differentiate between errors due to failure-to-maintain-set (distraction errors) and errors due to failure-to-switch-set (perseverative errors). The anticipated age differences in performance errors were most pronounced for perseverative errors between 8-9 years and 11-12 years, but for distraction errors adult levels were not reached until 13-15 years. These findings were interpreted to support the notion that set switching and set maintenance follow distinct developmental trajectories.
Crone
Eveline A
EA
Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. eacrone@ucdavis.edu
Ridderinkhof
K Richard
KR
Worm
Mijkje
M
Somsen
Riek J M
RJ
van der Molen
Maurits W
MW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D003071:Cognition; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D002666:Psychology, Child