Switching between tasks and responses: a developmental study
Abstract
Task switching requires the ability to flexibly switch between task rules and responses, and is sensitive to developmental change. We tested the hypothesis that developmental changes in task switch performance are associated with changes in the facilitating or interfering effect of the previously retrieved stimulus-response (S-R) association. Three age groups (7-8-year-olds, 10-12-year-olds and 20-25-year-olds) performed a two-choice reaction time (RT) task in which spatially compatible or incompatible responses were required. The RT costs associated with switching between tasks were larger when responses were repeated than when responses were alternated. Younger children showed a greater cost than adults when switching between tasks but repeating responses. This age difference decreased when the interval between the previous response and the upcoming stimulus increased. Switch costs were larger when switching to the compatible task than to the incompatible task, but this effect did not differ between age groups. These findings suggest that young children build up stronger transient associations between task sets and response sets, which interfere with their ability to switch to currently intended actions. A similar pattern has previously been observed for older adults (Mayr, 2001), suggesting a common contributor to task switching deficits across the life span.
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Research on cognitive flexibility has generally found decreases in switch costs across childhood and adolescence and subsequent increases in older adults.
“For example, research on cognitive flexibility has used a variety of task switching paradigms and generally found decreases in switch costs (i.e., the extent to which participants slow down on, or in the context of, switch trials) across childhood and adolescence, and subsequent increases in older adults (Cepeda, Kramer, & Gonzalez de Sather, 2001; Crone, Bunge, Van der Molen, & Ridderinkhof, 2006”
From NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (CB): Validation of Executive Function Measures in Adults (2014) · cites this paper as Crone, Bunge, Van der Molen, & Ridderinkhof, 2006
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“The notion that involuntary retrieval of task–response associations was a critical factor for age-related changes in switch costs might also account for the finding that age differences in task switching are not observed under some conditions (Kray et al., 2004).”
BackgroundSwitching between spatial stimulus–response mappings: a developmental study of cognitive flexibility
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- Authors
- Crone, E. A., Bunge, S. A., Van Der Molen, M. W., & Ridderinkhof, K. R.
- Affiliations
- Leiden University (NL)
- University of California, Davis (US)
- Corresponding author
- Crone, Eveline A.
- Venue
- Developmental Science
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2006-04-12
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 278-287
- ISSN
- 1363-755X (ISSN-L)
- 1467-7687
- OpenAlex
- W2150734198
- Cited by
- 136
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 2.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Keywords
- task switching, response compatibility, stimulus-response associations, developmental changes, children, adults, task sets
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aging, Child, Child Development, Color Perception, Discrimination Learning, Female, Humans, Male, Reaction Time, Taste
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