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Use it or lose it: examining preschoolers’ difficulty in maintaining and executing a goal
Author(s) -
Marcovitch Stuart,
Boseovski Janet J.,
Knapp Robin J.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
developmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.801
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1467-7687
pISSN - 1363-755X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00611.x
Subject(s) - psychology , neglect , card sorting , working memory , cognitive psychology , sort , developmental psychology , cognition , task (project management) , arithmetic , management , mathematics , neuroscience , psychiatry , economics
Individuals with low working memory capacity (e.g. preschoolers) are more prone to goal neglect, or a failure to execute a goal even though it is understood. We examined the role of goal neglect in performance on the Dimensional Change Card Sort by including ‘redundant’ cards that could be sorted without attending to the rules, as well as the traditional ‘conflict’ cards that encouraged awareness of the rules. In Experiment 1 , 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children were administered two card sorts that differed on the proportion of redundant cards presented (20% vs. 80%). Children neglected the goal more often when faced with a preponderance of redundant cards, suggesting that consistent attention to the rules leads to goal maintenance. In Experiment 2 , results were replicated even when the post‐switch rules were repeated on every trial. Implications for the development of working memory are discussed.