Monitoring and control processes within executive functions: Is post-error slowing related to pre-error speeding in...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Pre-error speeding and post-error slowing are cognitive control strategies.
• Post-error slowing is well-documented in children, but pre-error speeding is less studied.
• Understanding these strategies in early development is crucial for cognitive assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate pre-error speeding in kindergarten and first-grade children.
• To determine if pre-error speeding is associated with post-error slowing in children.
• To explore the relationship between these two cognitive control strategies in early childhood.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Hearts and Flowers cognitive control task.
• Analyzed data from 153 kindergartners and 468 first-graders.
• Examined the occurrence and magnitude of pre-error speeding and post-error slowing.

Main Results:

• Both kindergarten and first-grade children demonstrated significant pre-error speeding and post-error slowing.
• No significant differences were found in the magnitude of these strategies between the two age groups.
• A positive correlation was observed between the magnitude of pre-error speeding and post-error slowing within individuals.

Conclusions:

• Pre-error speeding and post-error slowing are related cognitive control strategies in children as young as kindergarten age.
• These strategies may jointly indicate the efficiency of children's performance monitoring and control.
• Findings highlight the early development of sophisticated cognitive control mechanisms.