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Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach
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Impact of tablet use on young children's inhibitory control and error monitoring

Abigail F Helm1, Jennifer M McDermott1

  • 1Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst MA 01003, USA.

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|June 10, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Brief tablet use impairs young children's inhibitory control. A study found that after a 15-minute tablet activity, children showed reduced accuracy on a cognitive task, highlighting potential impacts on executive functions.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

  • Early childhood is a critical period for developing executive functions, including inhibitory control.
  • Increasing access to digital devices like tablets raises questions about their impact on cognitive development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the short-term cognitive effects of tablet use in young children.
  • To examine impacts on inhibitory control and error monitoring.

Main Methods:

  • 70 children (3.5-5 years) completed a go/no-go task.
  • Random assignment to a 15-minute tablet-based cooking task or a toy-based cooking task.
  • Re-assessment of the go/no-go task after the activity.

Main Results:

  • Children using tablets showed significantly poorer inhibitory control (lower accuracy on no-go trials) compared to the control group.
  • Both groups exhibited similar post-error reaction time slowing, indicating intact error monitoring.

Conclusions:

  • Brief exposure to tablet use can temporarily impair young children's inhibitory control.
  • These findings suggest a selective cognitive impact of digital screen time on developing minds.

Keywords:
Error monitoringExecutive functionInhibitory controlMobile devicesPreschoolersTechnology use

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