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Task intentions and their implementation into actions: cognitive control from adolescence to middle adulthood
Edita Poljac1,2, Rianne Haartsen3,4, Renske van der Cruijsen3,5
1Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. edita.poljac@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de.
Psychological Research
|October 14, 2017
Summary
Cognitive control in multitasking shows age-related changes. Adolescents exhibit a stronger task repetition bias than adults, and older adults experience greater task-switching costs for complex tasks.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Cognitive control is crucial for multitasking and changes throughout the lifespan.
- Understanding age-related differences in cognitive control informs developmental trajectories.
- Previous research highlights age effects on executive functions, but specific mechanisms in voluntary task switching require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how age modulates cognitive control at the levels of task intention and action implementation.
- To examine the maturation of voluntary task choice and task-switching execution from adolescence to middle adulthood.
- To differentiate age-related changes in the intentional component (task choice) versus the implementation component (task execution).
Main Methods:
- A voluntary task-switching paradigm was employed with 74 participants across four age groups: adolescents (12-17), emerging adults (18-22), young adults (23-27), and middle-aged adults (28-56).
- Participants voluntarily chose between two cognitive tasks (shape or location identification) before stimulus presentation.
- Task choice and reaction times for task execution were recorded to analyze repetition bias and switch costs.
Main Results:
- A significant repetition bias (preferring to repeat tasks) was observed, which was notably stronger in adolescents compared to all adult groups.
- Task-switching incurred a general response slowing (switch cost), consistent across age groups.
- The magnitude of the switch cost differed between tasks for older adults; shape identification showed a larger switch cost than location identification, unlike in younger groups.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive control, encompassing both task intentions and their execution, undergoes specific age-related modifications.
- Adolescents demonstrate immature voluntary task selection, characterized by a heightened repetition bias.
- Age influences the efficiency of implementing task intentions, with older adults showing differential costs for specific task types.