Are Patterns of Cognitive Flexibility Development Generalizable, or Task Specific?

• In Event: Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Topic - Attention, Learning, Memory

Abstract

Cognitive flexibility (CF) is a top-down process that allows us to update our goal-oriented behaviors. It is generally assessed by rule-switching tasks that require children to switch from sorting objects using one rule (e.g., shape) to another (e.g., color) (Carroll et al., 2016). Recent research has shown interesting developmental changes in sorting performance immediately after a rule change: 2-year-olds tend to unsystematically select all response options (“Mixed Responders”), 3-year-olds tend to continue to sort by the initial rule (“Perseverators”), and 4-year-olds tend to correctly switch to the new rule (“Switchers”) (Blakey et al., 2016). However, findings from a single study makes it hard to know how far the results can be generalized. Therefore, we do not know whether this pattern of CF development in 2- to 4-year-olds is consistent across different tasks and within individual.

To test this, we developed a novel rule-switching task (called the MIST) that importantly differs from the previous tasks by requiring children to make multiple responses on a larger and more complex task array. Two- to four-year-olds (N = 135) completed both the SwIFT-3 and the MIST. Both tasks were administered on a touch screen computer and were comparable in difficulty. In the MIST, children must decide which three of nine images on the sorting array match the prompt image on the relevant rule (e.g., same animal species or same color of clothes). In the SwIFT-3, children must decide which one of three colorful shapes matches a prompt image on the relevant rule (e.g., color or shape).

Latent Class Analysis indicated that after the rule changed, children produced same pattern of switching performance across the two tasks: Mixed Responders who unsystematically selected all response options, Perseverators who continued to sort by the initial rule, and Switchers who correctly switched to the new rule (see Figure 1 for age-related changes in performance categories on the MIST). In addition, the majority of Mixed Responders on the SwIFT-3 (81.4%) were also categorized as Mixed Responders on the MIST. Moreover, the majority of Switchers on the SwIFT-3 (63.6%) were also categorized as Switchers on the MIST. However, less than half of the Perseverators on the SwIFT-3 (40.5%) were also categorized as Perseverators on the MIST (see Table 1 for within-individual switching performance across the two tasks).

This suggests that the development of CF is partly robust across tasks and within individual; however, the incidence of perseveration might be an emergent property of the task design.

Authors

• Yesim Yavaslar Dogru, Karabuk University
  Presenting Author

• Daniel J. Carroll, University of Sheffield
  Non-Presenting Author

• Emma Blakey, University of Sheffield
  Non-Presenting Author