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Tracking the Within‐Trial, Cross‐Trial, and Developmental Dynamics of Cognitive Control: Evidence From the Simon Task
Author(s) -
Erb Christopher D.,
Marcovitch Stuart
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13111
Subject(s) - psychology , dynamics (music) , task (project management) , cognition , control (management) , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , cognitive development , process (computing) , child development , tracking (education) , artificial intelligence , computer science , neuroscience , pedagogy , management , economics , operating system
Six‐ to 8‐year‐olds, 10‐ to 12‐year‐olds, and adults ( N = 108) performed the Simon task by reaching to targets on a digital display. The spatial and temporal characteristics of their movements were used to assess how two key processes underlying cognitive control—a threshold adjustment process and a controlled selection process—unfold over the course of a response (within‐trial dynamics), are modulated by recent experience (cross‐trial dynamics), and contribute to age‐related gains in control (developmental dynamics). The results indicate that the controlled selection process undergoes a more protracted development than the threshold adjustment process. The results also shed light on a prominent debate concerning the cross‐trial dynamics of control by supporting the feature integration account over the conflict adaptation account.