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Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task
Published on: February 26, 2020
The effect of delayed responding on Stroop-like task performance among preschoolers
Derek E Montgomery1, Whitney Fosco
1Bradley University, Department of Psychology, Peoria, IL 61625, USA. montg@bradley.edu
The Journal of Genetic Psychology
|June 20, 2012
Summary
Adding a brief delay significantly improved preschoolers' ability to control interference in a Stroop-like task. This suggests delays help reduce competing responses, aiding cognitive control development.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Children often struggle with interference control, a key aspect of executive function.
- The Stroop task is a standard measure for assessing interference and cognitive control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of imposed delays on preschoolers' interference control.
- To determine if the visibility of the test card during the delay impacts interference control.
Main Methods:
- Forty-four preschoolers participated in a Stroop-like task with and without a 3-second delay.
- Two delay conditions were tested: test card visible and test card occluded.
- Interference control was measured by response accuracy and latency.
Main Results:
- A significant improvement in interference control was observed when a delay was imposed before responding.
- No significant difference in interference control was found between the visible and occluded delay conditions.
- Children showed increased susceptibility to interference as the testing session progressed.
Conclusions:
- Imposing a delay before responding effectively reduces interference in preschoolers.
- Delays appear to work by diminishing the influence of competing responses.
- Memory demands might influence how effective these delays are for cognitive control.
