Selective Inhibitory Control in Middle Childhood

The main aim of this study was to investigate the development of selective inhibitory control in middle childhood, a critical period for the maturation of inhibition-related processes. To this end, 64 children aged 6–7 and 56 children aged 10–11 performed a stimulus-selective stop-signal task, which...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rincón Pérez, Irene, Sánchez Carmona, Alberto José, Arroyo Lozano, Susana, García Rubio, Carlos, Hinojosa Poveda, José Antonio, Fernández Jaén, Alberto, López Martín, Sara, Albert, Jacobo
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/6950
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/6950
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:executive control
selective stopping
strategies
SSRT
middle childhood
Psicología (Psicología)
Psicología evolutiva
61 Psicología
6102.01 Psicología Evolutiva
Descripción
Sumario:The main aim of this study was to investigate the development of selective inhibitory control in middle childhood, a critical period for the maturation of inhibition-related processes. To this end, 64 children aged 6–7 and 56 children aged 10–11 performed a stimulus-selective stop-signal task, which allowed us to estimate not only the efficiency of response inhibition (the stop-signal reaction time or SSRT), but also the strategy adopted by participants to achieve task demands. We found that the adoption of a non-selective (global) strategy characterized by stopping indiscriminately to all stimuli decreased in older children, so that most of them were able to interrupt their ongoing responses selectively at the end of middle childhood. Moreover, compared to younger children, older children were more efficient in their ability to cancel an initiated response (indexed by a shorter SSRT), regardless of which strategy they used. Additionally, we found improvements in other forms of impulsivity, such as the control of premature responding (waiting impulsivity), and attentional-related processes, such as intra-individual variability and distractibility. The present results suggest that middle childhood represents a milestone in the development of crucial aspects of inhibitory control, including selective stopping.