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Disentangling the Respective Contribution of Task Selection and Task Execution to Self‐Directed Cognitive Control Development
Author(s) -
Frick Aurélien,
Brandimonte Maria A.,
Chevalier Nicolas
Publication year - 2020
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.13479
Subject(s) - task (project management) , task switching , cognition , psychology , selection (genetic algorithm) , control (management) , cognitive psychology , task analysis , developmental psychology , computer science , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , management , economics
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.