Work

Underpinnings of the Costs of Flexibility in Preschool Children: The Roles of Inhibition and Working Memory

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: This study addressed the respective contributions of inhibition and working memory to two underlying components of flexibility, goal representation (as assessed by mixing costs) and switch implementation (as assessed by local costs), across the preschool period. By later preschool age (4 years, 6 months and 5 years, 3 months), both inhibition and working-memory performance were associated with mixing costs, but not with local costs, whereas no relation was observed earlier (3 years, 9 months). The relations of inhibition and working memory to flexibility appear to emerge late in the preschool period and are mainly driven by goal representation.

Source: Developmental Neuropsychology

DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2011.632458

Authors: Nicolas Chevalier, Tiffany D. Sheffield, Jennifer Mize Nelson, Caron A. C. Clark, Sandra A. Wiebe, Kimberly Andrews Espy

Institutions: University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Alberta, University of Oregon

Language: English

Topic: Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development