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Characterization of children's decision making: sensitivity to punishment frequency, not task complexity
Eveline A Crone1, Silvia A Bunge, Heleen Latenstein
1Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ECrone@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Summary
Children aged 7-12 exhibit future myopia, similar to ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) patients. This decision-making myopia improves with age, especially when future punishment is infrequent.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Children aged 7-12 often make risky decisions, mirroring ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) patients.
- Real-life decision-making involves balancing immediate rewards with future consequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate developmental changes in decision-making in children and adolescents.
- To examine how task complexity and punishment frequency influence decision-making.
- To understand the role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) in decision-making development.
Main Methods:
- Three age groups (7-9, 10-12, 13-15 years) completed two versions of a computerized Iowa gambling task.
- Task complexity was varied by altering the number of choices.
- Punishment frequency was manipulated by adjusting the rate of delayed punishment.
Main Results:
- Decision-making sensitivity to future consequences increased with age, particularly when punishment was infrequent.
- Boys generally made more advantageous choices than girls.
- Findings were not explained by task complexity, reward sensitivity, or response set switching.
Conclusions:
- Children aged 7-12 demonstrate a 'future myopia' in decision-making, similar to VMPFC patients.
- This myopia lessens with age, especially when future negative outcomes are consistently signaled.
- Developmental decision-making is influenced by age, sex, and the predictability of consequences.