Perceptual biases during cued task switching relate to decision process differences between children and adults

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance
Joel E MartinezJessica A Church

Abstract

Previous work suggests that children engage preparatory processing differently than adults in cued task switching. One potential consequence is that they are differentially biased by visual properties of the stimuli, for example, target-choice similarity. We tested this possibility in 215 children and young adults ranging from 6 to 27 years of age. Participants played a cue-target game with varying levels of working memory and attentional demand where they matched multidimensional stimuli according to a cued dimension. Younger age, low working memory demand, and matching fine grained dimensions (i.e., pattern) increased the bias of target-choice similarity on task performance. Older age, high working memory, and matching global dimensions (i.e., shape) mitigated the bias. Developmental transitions to adult performance differed by task demands but generally occurred during adolescence. A drift diffusion analysis revealed age and task differences in decision making strategies consistent with how similarity impacted task performance, indicating that, especially with low working memory demand, children made impulsive, similarity-driven decisions. Our findings support the idea that children engage in preparation strategies that exac...Continue Reading

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