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Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm
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Stress impairs cognitive flexibility in infants.

Sabine Seehagen1, Silvia Schneider2, Julia Rudolph2

  • 1Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany; sabine.seehagen@rub.de.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|September 30, 2015
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Acute stress impairs infant cognitive flexibility. Stressed 15-month-olds rigidly performed habitual actions, even when ineffective, unlike unstressed infants who adapted their behavior.

Keywords:
cortisolinfant developmentlearningstress

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Adults under acute stress exhibit rigid habitual behaviors, sacrificing cognitive flexibility.
  • The impact of immediate stress on early-life cognitive functions remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of acute stress on behavioral flexibility in human infants.
  • To determine if stress impairs the ability of infants to adapt to changing circumstances.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental manipulation of acute stress in 15-month-old infants.
  • Assessment of behavioral adjustment following a change in action effectiveness.
  • Comparison between a stress-exposed group and a no-stress control group.

Main Results:

  • Infants exposed to acute stress rigidly continued a previously effective action after it became ineffective.
  • Control infants demonstrated flexible behavior, disengaging from the ineffective action.
  • Stress exposure significantly impaired the ability to adjust behavior to new environmental contingencies.

Conclusions:

  • Acute stress negatively impacts cognitive flexibility in human infants.
  • Stress-induced rigidity in behavior is evident even in early development.
  • Findings highlight stress as a critical factor affecting early cognitive development and behavioral adaptation.