The effect of task difficulty on feedback processing in children

The study evaluated the effect of task difficulty on feedback processing as measured by the feedback related event related potentials (ERPs) in 7-11-years-old children. Children completed two declarative learning tasks that differed in the number of object-name pairs they were required to learn, deeming the task with twice as many pairs as more difficult. EEG was recorded during the tasks, and event related potentials time-locked to the feedback presentation were analyzed. Additionally, Accuracy was measured in test block at the end of each task. Behaviorally, children achieved better accuracy on the easy task than on the difficult task. In line with previous findings in adults, the FRN was not found sensitive to task difficulty. However, a feedback-related P300 and a fronto-central positivity that followed the FRN were found sensitive to task difficulty such that their amplitudes were larger in the easy task. This pattern is opposite to that reported previously in adults and may reflect the effect of motivation on attention allocation in children.