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Conditions under which children experience inhibitory difficulty with a "button-press" go/no-go task
Andrew Simpson1, Kevin J Riggs
1Department of Psychology, London Metropolitan University, London E1 7NT, UK. a.simpson@londonmet.ac.uk
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|December 6, 2005
Summary
Inhibitory control in children is often measured using go/no-go tasks. This study found stimulus presentation speed, not task design, is crucial for accurately assessing inhibitory difficulties in young children.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Go/no-go tasks are commonly used to assess inhibitory control development in children.
- However, the specific "button-press" variant may not accurately measure inhibition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the conditions influencing inhibitory difficulty in young children using a button-press go/no-go task.
- To determine the validity of the button-press task as a measure of inhibitory control.
Main Methods:
- Examined inhibitory performance in 120 children (mean age 3 years 6 months).
- Manipulated stimulus presentation speed in a button-press go/no-go task.
Main Results:
- Stimulus presentation speed significantly impacts observed inhibitory difficulty.
- Faster presentation speeds appear to elicit more "failures" to inhibit, potentially due to task demands rather than inhibition deficits.
- Previous studies may have used insufficiently brief stimulus durations.
Conclusions:
- The inhibitory credentials of button-press go/no-go tasks require careful validation.
- Stimulus presentation speed is a critical factor to consider when interpreting results from these tasks.
- Researchers must establish task validity before using it as a marker of inhibitory control in children.