title: Do Young Children Modulate Their Cognitive Control?
abstract: Dynamic, trial-by-trial modulations of inhibitory control are well documented in adults but rarely investigated in children. Here, we examined whether 5-to-7 year-old children, an age range when inhibitory control is still partially immature, achieve such modulations. Fifty three children took flanker, Simon, and Stroop tasks. Above and beyond classic congruency effects, the present results showed two crucial findings. First, we found evidence for sequential modulations of congruency effects in these young children in the three conflict tasks. Second, our results showed both task specificities and task commonalities. These findings in young children have important implications as they suggest that, to be modulated, inhibitory control does not require full maturation and that the precise pattern of trial-by-trial modulations may depend on the nature of conflict.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Cognitive Psychology, LPC Aix Marseille University, France.
authors.forename: Solène
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ambrosi
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Cognitive Psychology, LPC Aix Marseille University, France.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lemaire
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Cognitive Psychology, LPC Aix Marseille University, France.
authors.forename: Agnès
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blaye
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Simon task; color-object Stroop task; flanker task; inhibitory control; sequential congruency effect; young children