Consistent Performance Differences between Children and Adults Despite Manipulation of Cue-Target Variables.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Cognitive flexibility, the ability to switch between tasks, develops throughout childhood and adolescence.
• Understanding the developmental trajectory of cognitive flexibility is crucial for educational and clinical applications.
• Previous research suggests age-related differences in cognitive control, but the plasticity of these skills requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the plasticity and short-term improvement of cued task switching in children and adults.
• To examine the impact of task difficulty (number of features, response options) and working memory demand on performance differences between age groups.
• To investigate the age at which children achieve adult-level performance in task switching and the potential for practice-based improvement.

Main Methods:

• Two behavioral experiments involving 215 children (6-16 years) and adults (18-27 years).
• Task manipulations included varying the number of cued features (2-4), response options (2 or 4), and working memory load.
• Performance was measured by task accuracy and response times.

Main Results:

• Task manipulations aimed at reducing age differences were unsuccessful; children consistently performed worse and were more affected by task changes than adults.
• Adult-like task switching performance was observed around mid-adolescence (13-16 years).
• Both children and adults showed similar performance improvement with practice, with higher memory demand leading to greater gains.

Conclusions:

• Stable developmental differences exist in cued task switching performance between children and adults.
• Cognitive flexibility shows relative plasticity within individuals over time, as evidenced by practice-related improvements.
• While adult-level performance is reached by mid-adolescence, specific task demands can still reveal age-related discrepancies.