A Novel Approach to Measuring the Developmental Interactions Between Working Memory and Inhibitory Control in Young Children

Abstract

Previous studies of executive control in children have tended to employ different tasks to measure different potential executive functions. Here we employ two novel tasks that orthogonally manipulate the working memory and inhibitory control demands within each paradigm. Children in three age groups (3-4-, 4-5-, and 5-6-year olds) will be assessed, with 48 children in each group. Participants will be given 6 conditions of a choice reaction time task formed by the crossing of two levels of inhibition with three levels of working memory load. The task involves determining which spatial response location is associated with each stimulus. They will also receive 9 conditions of a selective response task formed by crossing three levels of inhibition with three levels of working memory load. The task involves making ‘go’ responses to half the stimuli while withholding a response to the other stimuli.