[The unbalanced polarity of response flexibility and cognitive preference between reflective and impulsive children]

Two experiments investigated the unbalanced polarity of response flexibility and cognitive preference between reflective and impulsive children. In experiment I, Cairns and Cammock's Matching Familiar Figures Test was readministered to 186 reflective and impulsive children in the first and fourth grades under one of three instructions: standard, accuracy-emphasized, or speed-emphasized instructions. Reflective children controlled their responses flexibly even if the task demand was opposite to their accustomed manners. But impulsive children could not accommodate their responses to the unaccustomed, accuracy-emphasized demand. In experiment II, 96 reflective and impulsive children in the first and fourth grades were asked about their expert, preferred task demand. Most reflective children answered that they were successful in the accuracy-demanded condition and preferred it. A half of impulsive children selected the speed-demanded condition; the others replied the same as the reflective.