The DOI matches its Crossref record; 51 of the 57 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
ADHD Outside the Laboratory: Boys' Executive Function Performance on Tasks in Videogame Play and on a Visit to the Zoo
Abstract
One current theory of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) proposes that a primary deficit in behavioral inhibition gives rise to secondary deficits in 4 executive functions and motor control. To date, empirical support for this model is based primarily on laboratory-based cognitive methods. This study assessed behavioral inhibition and executive functioning in children with ADHD in 2 real-life contexts: videogames (motor-skill target game, cognitively demanding adventure game) and an outing at the zoo (route tasks). Participants were a community sample of 57 boys diagnosed with ADHD (20 inattentive, 37 combined type) and 57 normally developing control boys, matched individually for age and nonverbal IQ. Operationally defined measures of behavioral inhibition and specific executive functions were derived from these activities and assessed under contrasting conditions of low or high working memory and distractor loads. There were no group differences in basic motor skills on the target game, nor in terms of the ability to inhibit a prepotent or ongoing response in the adventure videogame. However, boys with ADHD exhibited more self-talk, more effortful response preparation, and completed fewer challenges in the latter videogame. Also, they manifested inhibition deficits in terms of interference control during the route task at the zoo and took longer to complete the tasks. Typically, these differences were greatest under conditions of high working memory and distractor loads. Findings from this study suggest that cognitive difficulties in ADHD may be context dependent and that ADHD is associated with deficits in some but not all aspects of behavioral inhibition.
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“This implies that, especially for children with ADHD, the use of game-like motivational strategies at home, or using computer gaming in schoolwork, computerized testing and computerized interventions (e.g., Klingberg et al. 2005) could be a cost-effective way to optimize performance (see also Prins et al. 2011; Lawrence et al. 2002).”
From Can Motivation Normalize Working Memory and Task Persistence in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? The Effects of Money and Computer-Gaming (2012) · cites this paper as Lawrence et al. 2002
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Metadata
- Authors
- Lawrence, V., Houghton, S., Tannock, R., Douglas, G., Durkin, K., & Whiting, K.
- Affiliations
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Hospital for Sick Children (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Houghton, Stephen
- Venue
- Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
- Published
- 2002-10
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 447-462
- ISSN
- 0091-0627 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2835
- OpenAlex
- W330186422
- Cited by
- 131
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 2.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, executive function, behavioral inhibition, zoo visits, real-life context, working memory load, distractor load, interference control, self-talk, boys, inattentive subtype, combined type, motor control
- MeSH terms
- Analysis of Variance, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Humans, Inhibition, Psychological, Internal-External Control, Male, Memory, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychomotor Performance, Task Performance and Analysis, Cohort Studies, Video Games
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