title: Stop Saying That It Is Wrong! Psychophysiological, Cognitive, and Metacognitive Markers of Children's Sensitivity to Punishment.
abstract: Neurodevelopmental evidence suggests that children's main decision-making strategy is to avoid options likely to induce punishment. However, the cognitive and affective factors contributing to children's avoidance to high punishment frequency remain unknown. The present study explored psychophysiological, cognitive, and metacognitive processes associated with sensitivity to punishment frequency. We evaluated 54 participants (between 8 and 15 years old) with a modified Iowa Gambling Task for children (IGT-C) which included options with varying long-term profit and punishment frequencies. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded during this task. Additionally, we assessed IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, fluid intelligence, and executive functions. Participants exhibited behavioral avoidance and high anticipatory SCRs to options with high frequency of punishment. Moreover, age, IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, and inhibitory control were associated with individual differences in sensitivity to punishment frequency. Our results suggest that children's preference for infrequently punished decisions is partially explained by psychophysiological signals as well as task complexity and development of cognitive control.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neurology (INECO), Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; UDP-INECO Foundation Core on Neuroscience (UIFCoN), Faculty of Psychology, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Maria Luz
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Gadea
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Science Institute, Developmental Psychology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anouk
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scheres
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia; Grupo de Neuropsicología y Conducta, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia.
authors.forename: Carlos Andres
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Tobon
authors.affiliation: University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Damm
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neurology (INECO), Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; UDP-INECO Foundation Core on Neuroscience (UIFCoN), Faculty of Psychology, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baez
authors.affiliation: UDP-INECO Foundation Core on Neuroscience (UIFCoN), Faculty of Psychology, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile; Laboratory of Cognitive and Social Neurosciences, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huepe
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neuroimágenes, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Cordoba, Argentina.
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.affiliation: Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires y Facultad de Psicología (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marder
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neurology (INECO), Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; UDP-INECO Foundation Core on Neuroscience (UIFCoN), Faculty of Psychology, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile; Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Australian Research Council (ACR), Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Facundo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Manes
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neurology (INECO), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abrevaya
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neurology (INECO), Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; UDP-INECO Foundation Core on Neuroscience (UIFCoN), Faculty of Psychology, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile; Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Australian Research Council (ACR), Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia.
authors.forename: Agustin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ibanez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition; D056344:Executive Function; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011603:Psychophysiology / Q000379:methods; D011678:Punishment / Q000523:psychology*; D012201:Reward