Developmental dissociations of preparation over time: deconstructing the variable foreperiod phenomena

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Reaction times (RTs) in variable foreperiod (FP) paradigms exhibit both FP effects and sequential effects.
• Traditionally, these effects are attributed to separate strategic preparation processes.
• An alternative hypothesis suggests common conditioning laws underlie both phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the developmental trajectories of FP effects and sequential effects.
• To differentiate between strategic preparation and conditioning law explanations for these RT phenomena.
• To examine the emergence of these effects across different age groups.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a variable foreperiod paradigm with simple reaction time tasks.
• Tested children aged 4–11 years and adults.
• Included longitudinal testing of 4- to 5-year-old children after 14 months.
• Employed different FP durations (1, 2, 3, and 5 seconds) across experiments.

Main Results:

• Sequential effects were observed in the youngest participants (4–5 years old).
• The FP effect gradually emerged in older children.
• Developmental time courses for the two effects were distinct.
• Findings challenge existing theoretical accounts.

Conclusions:

• The distinct ontogenetic time courses suggest separate developmental origins for FP and sequential effects.
• A dual-process account is proposed to reconcile the observed developmental patterns.
• Implications for understanding cognitive development and attention are discussed.