Not all distractions are the same: Investigating why preschoolers make distraction errors when switching

Blakey, Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3685-3649 and Carroll, Daniel 2018. Not all distractions are the same: Investigating why preschoolers make distraction errors when switching. Child Development 89 (2) , pp. 609-619. 10.1111/cdev.12721

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Abstract

When switching between tasks, preschoolers frequently make distraction errors – as distinct from perseverative errors. This study examines for the first time why preschoolers make these errors. One hundred and sixty-four two- and three-year-olds completed one of four different conditions on a rule-switching task where children sorted stimuli according to one rule and then switched to a new rule. Conditions varied according to the type of information that children needed to ignore. Children made significantly more distraction errors when the to-be-ignored information was related to the previous rule. When it was not related to a previous rule, even young preschoolers could disregard this information. This demonstrates that distraction errors are caused by children’s initial goal-representations that continue to affect performance.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Cognitive flexibility, executive functions, preschoolers
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN:	0009-3920
Funders:	Economic and Social Research Council
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	23 August 2016
Date of Acceptance:	19 August 2016
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2023 14:57
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/93989

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