Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101574
Aimie-Lee Juteau , Carolyn June Holmes , Patricia Brosseau-Liard
Previous research indicates a general preference to learn from confident individuals among both adults and children. However, the interpretation of confidence remains ambiguous. In two experiments, adults (N = 192) and 7-to-10-year-olds (N = 143) were presented with a short video featuring either a confident or a hesitant person. Participants were subsequently queried about social and knowledge-related traits associated with the person and with confidence as an attribute. In Experiment 1, adults watching a confident person attributed more knowledge and positive social traits to the person than adults watching a hesitant person. In Experiment 2, children attributed more knowledge, but not more positive social traits, to a confident rather than a hesitant person. These findings not only help us gain a better understanding of how people perceive confidence, but also hint to how this interpretation changes with age, findings which have important implications for our understanding of social cognitive development.
{"title":"Confidence cues: Epistemic or social?","authors":"Aimie-Lee Juteau , Carolyn June Holmes , Patricia Brosseau-Liard","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101574","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101574","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Previous research indicates a general preference to learn from confident individuals among both adults and children. However, the interpretation of confidence remains ambiguous. In two experiments, adults (<em>N</em> = 192) and 7-to-10-year-olds (<em>N</em> = 143) were presented with a short video featuring either a confident or a hesitant person. Participants were subsequently queried about social and knowledge-related traits associated with the person and with confidence as an attribute. In Experiment 1, adults watching a confident person attributed more knowledge and positive social traits to the person than adults watching a hesitant person. In Experiment 2, children attributed more knowledge, but not more positive social traits, to a confident rather than a hesitant person. These findings not only help us gain a better understanding of how people perceive confidence, but also hint to how this interpretation changes with age, findings which have important implications for our understanding of social cognitive development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101574"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143777252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101582
Marie Sophie Hunze , Franziska Freudenberger , Yvonne Gerigk , Peter Ohler , Gerhild Nieding
Children's media sign literacy (MSL) has been identified as a predictor of knowledge acquisition from media and academic competencies, surpassing even intelligence. Based on this empirical finding, a tablet-based training program to enhance MSL was developed. In a pretest-posttest experiment involving 152 preschoolers, this training program was compared with an active control group, using a digital inductive reasoning (IR) training, and a passive control group, continuing with the daily preschool activities. Preschoolers' MSL, intelligence, and diverse academic precursors were assessed. Results demonstrated significant improvements in MSL among preschoolers undergoing the MSL training program. Unexpectedly, the IR training showed significant impact only on one of the four intelligence subscales, and participants in the MSL group even outperformed the IR group on another subscale. Both training programs significantly improved participants' letter knowledge, and the IR training furthermore significantly improved participants' phonological awareness.
{"title":"Training of media sign literacy and intelligence: Effects on preschoolers’ cognitive skills","authors":"Marie Sophie Hunze , Franziska Freudenberger , Yvonne Gerigk , Peter Ohler , Gerhild Nieding","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101582","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101582","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Children's media sign literacy (MSL) has been identified as a predictor of knowledge acquisition from media and academic competencies, surpassing even intelligence. Based on this empirical finding, a tablet-based training program to enhance MSL was developed. In a pretest-posttest experiment involving 152 preschoolers, this training program was compared with an active control group, using a digital inductive reasoning (IR) training, and a passive control group, continuing with the daily preschool activities. Preschoolers' MSL, intelligence, and diverse academic precursors were assessed. Results demonstrated significant improvements in MSL among preschoolers undergoing the MSL training program. Unexpectedly, the IR training showed significant impact only on one of the four intelligence subscales, and participants in the MSL group even outperformed the IR group on another subscale. Both training programs significantly improved participants' letter knowledge, and the IR training furthermore significantly improved participants' phonological awareness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101582"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144072068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101581
Karima Elgamal , Paul Muentener , Laura Lakusta
The current study tested how 3- to 6-year-old children encode causal mechanisms in language for Mechanical Support events (e.g. a person adheres one to another object). Children were first introduced to two objects and were familiarized with their affordances (e.g., whether the objects adhered to a box or not), then asked “Why did that happen?” During two test phases, children then simultaneously viewed a pair of events that depicted consistent or inconsistent support (e.g., the object fell when it previously adhered or it adhered when it previously fell). Children were again asked, “Why did that happen?” Children’s use of causal explanations (e.g., "The toy is sticking to the box because there is glue") increased from 3- to 6-years of age, and the types of causal explanations that children used changed with age. These findings shed light on the developmental lag that has been reported in children’s acquisition of Mechanical Support Language, suggesting that conceptual changes in children’s causal representations may influence their Mechanical Support language acquisition.
{"title":"Development of mechanical spatial language of support: Insight from 3- to 6-year-old children’s explanations","authors":"Karima Elgamal , Paul Muentener , Laura Lakusta","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101581","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101581","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current study tested how 3- to 6-year-old children encode causal mechanisms in language for Mechanical Support events (e.g. a person adheres one to another object). Children were first introduced to two objects and were familiarized with their affordances (e.g., whether the objects adhered to a box or not), then asked “Why did that happen?” During two test phases, children then simultaneously viewed a pair of events that depicted consistent or inconsistent support (e.g., the object fell when it previously adhered or it adhered when it previously fell). Children were again asked, “Why did that happen?” Children’s use of causal explanations (e.g., \"The toy is sticking to the box because there is glue\") increased from 3- to 6-years of age, and the types of causal explanations that children used changed with age. These findings shed light on the developmental lag that has been reported in children’s acquisition of Mechanical Support Language, suggesting that conceptual changes in children’s causal representations may influence their Mechanical Support language acquisition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101581"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101571
Hsiao-Lan Sharon Wang , Yu-Ling Chen
Alphabetic studies have indicated that musical activities can be used as a means of bolstering language and pre-reading skills for children. Nevertheless, the associations between musical performance, phonological awareness, and non-alphabetic readingrelated abilities were still unclear, especially in Chinese literatures. This study, therefore, was aimed to explore (1) whether children with Chinese reading difficulties (RD) would show impairments in the musical, phonological, and reading-related variables, compared to normal readers., and (2) whether there are any particular association among musical skills, phonological awareness, and reading abilities for Chinese children with RD. A series of psychometric, phonological, and reading-related tasks were administrated to a sample of 59 native speakers of Mandarin, including 32 chronological aged-matched typical readers (CA controls) and 27 children with reading difficulties (RD group). Generally, results showed that RD group was significantly poorer than CA controls in most of phonological and reading-related tasks. Children with RD appeared to have weaker performance in some particular musical tasks, including rhythm discrimination and chord discrimination. Moreover, hierarchical regression analyses further demonstrated that children’s performance of rhythm discrimination can have significant prediction particularly in their onset and rime awareness. Our results suggested the implications of further exploring the idea of musical intervention as well as the research design on Chinese children.
{"title":"Musical perception skills, phonological awareness, and reading difficulties in Chinese","authors":"Hsiao-Lan Sharon Wang , Yu-Ling Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101571","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101571","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Alphabetic studies have indicated that musical activities can be used as a means of bolstering language and pre-reading skills for children. Nevertheless, the associations between musical performance, phonological awareness, and non-alphabetic readingrelated abilities were still unclear, especially in Chinese literatures. This study, therefore, was aimed to explore (1) whether children with Chinese reading difficulties (RD) would show impairments in the musical, phonological, and reading-related variables, compared to normal readers., and (2) whether there are any particular association among musical skills, phonological awareness, and reading abilities for Chinese children with RD. A series of psychometric, phonological, and reading-related tasks were administrated to a sample of 59 native speakers of Mandarin, including 32 chronological aged-matched typical readers (CA controls) and 27 children with reading difficulties (RD group). Generally, results showed that RD group was significantly poorer than CA controls in most of phonological and reading-related tasks. Children with RD appeared to have weaker performance in some particular musical tasks, including rhythm discrimination and chord discrimination. Moreover, hierarchical regression analyses further demonstrated that children’s performance of rhythm discrimination can have significant prediction particularly in their onset and rime awareness. Our results suggested the implications of further exploring the idea of musical intervention as well as the research design on Chinese children.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101571"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143758999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101578
Inês Morais , Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg , Jacob J.W. Bakermans , Manuela Veríssimo
Background
Many situations and tasks depend on the ability to delay gratification and control impulses. The degree of impatience or reluctance to wait for delayed outcomes is considered a mechanism underlying impulsive decision-making and predictive of a range of developmental outcomes. However, behavioral genetic studies of delay discounting (DD) focused on adults and adolescents, and did not yet include younger children.
Aims
The present study explored DD in middle childhood. We estimated the heritability using a twin design and explored associations between DD and variables such as sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), IQ, and inhibitory control. Method: A total of 514 children (49 % boys) from 257 twin pairs, with a mean age of 8;11 years (SD = 0;8), participated in this study. DD was assessed using the Delay Discounting of Money task. Behavioral genetic analyses were conducted using R.
Results
The variance and covariance of DD were best accounted for by a combination of genetic (25 %) and unique environmental factors (75 %). Results in boys and girls were similar. Significant associations with inhibitory control were found.
Conclusions
Our results point to a genetic basis for DD in a developmental sample, complementing research on older age groups. The pattern of results from this and other studies suggest that heritability estimates increase over time.
{"title":"Delay discounting in middle childhood: Heritability estimates from a twin study","authors":"Inês Morais , Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg , Jacob J.W. Bakermans , Manuela Veríssimo","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101578","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101578","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Many situations and tasks depend on the ability to delay gratification and control impulses. The degree of impatience or reluctance to wait for delayed outcomes is considered a mechanism underlying impulsive decision-making and predictive of a range of developmental outcomes. However, behavioral genetic studies of delay discounting (DD) focused on adults and adolescents, and did not yet include younger children.</div></div><div><h3>Aims</h3><div>The present study explored DD in middle childhood. We estimated the heritability using a twin design and explored associations between DD and variables such as sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), IQ, and inhibitory control. Method: A total of 514 children (49 % boys) from 257 twin pairs, with a mean age of 8;11 years (SD = 0;8), participated in this study. DD was assessed using the Delay Discounting of Money task. Behavioral genetic analyses were conducted using R.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The variance and covariance of DD were best accounted for by a combination of genetic (25 %) and unique environmental factors (75 %). Results in boys and girls were similar. Significant associations with inhibitory control were found.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our results point to a genetic basis for DD in a developmental sample, complementing research on older age groups. The pattern of results from this and other studies suggest that heritability estimates increase over time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101578"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143870444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101573
Valerie San Juan , Katherine Gibbard , Sirine Morra , Melanie Khu , Craig G. Chambers , Susan A. Graham
We examined whether, in the absence of physical cues about a speaker’s visual perspective, 4- and 5-year-old children (N = 46) children would use their beliefs about the speaker’s knowledge state to guide real-time referential interpretation. Using a modified version of the visual world paradigm where a speaker provided referential instructions remotely from a different room from the child listener, children learned that some images on their display (i.e., items that appeared on top of blue cards) could not be seen on the speaker’s display (i.e., the speaker saw a blank blue card only). Results indicated that children identified a target referent faster and more accurately when they believed they had privileged access to a competitor object in a visual display versus when they believed this competitor was also known to the speaker. These findings indicate that preschoolers do not require the co-presence of a speaker or immediate line-of-sight cues to rapidly integrate perspective information during real-time language processing. Overall, the findings provide new insights into the different types of perspective cues that children use to guide language understanding, as well as the time course and magnitude of their effects.
{"title":"Common ground without copresence: Preschoolers apply indirect cues about shared knowledge in real-time referential interpretation","authors":"Valerie San Juan , Katherine Gibbard , Sirine Morra , Melanie Khu , Craig G. Chambers , Susan A. Graham","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101573","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101573","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examined whether, in the absence of physical cues about a speaker’s visual perspective, 4- and 5-year-old children (<em>N</em> = 46) children would use their beliefs about the speaker’s knowledge state to guide real-time referential interpretation. Using a modified version of the visual world paradigm where a speaker provided referential instructions remotely from a different room from the child listener, children learned that some images on their display (i.e., items that appeared on top of blue cards) could not be seen on the speaker’s display (i.e., the speaker saw a blank blue card only). Results indicated that children identified a target referent faster and more accurately when they believed they had privileged access to a competitor object in a visual display versus when they believed this competitor was also known to the speaker. These findings indicate that preschoolers do not require the co-presence of a speaker or immediate line-of-sight cues to rapidly integrate perspective information during real-time language processing. Overall, the findings provide new insights into the different types of perspective cues that children use to guide language understanding, as well as the time course and magnitude of their effects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101573"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143806873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101588
Christoph Schütz , Cornelia Frank
In a repetitive, sequential task, we tend to reuse our former motor plans to save cognitive planning cost. This reuse results in a persistence in the former posture, termed motor hysteresis. In the current study, we asked if this planning principle for cost minimization would already be present in early childhood development. To this end, we asked 4- to 6-year-old preschool children to open a column of slotted drawers in an ascending and in a descending sequence. As the dependent variable, we documented whether children used an over- or underhand grasp for each drawer. A majority of children switched from the default overhand to an underhand grasp for the lower drawers. The point-of-change shifted as a function of sequence: the children persisted in their initial, underhand grasp in the ascending and in an overhand grasp in the descending sequence. The results indicate that preschool children can inhibit the default grasp posture to adapt to the biomechanical requirements of a task and that hysteresis as a planning principle is either innate or already well developed at an early age.
{"title":"Hysteresis in posture selection in preschool children","authors":"Christoph Schütz , Cornelia Frank","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101588","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101588","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In a repetitive, sequential task, we tend to reuse our former motor plans to save cognitive planning cost. This reuse results in a persistence in the former posture, termed motor hysteresis. In the current study, we asked if this planning principle for cost minimization would already be present in early childhood development. To this end, we asked 4- to 6-year-old preschool children to open a column of slotted drawers in an ascending and in a descending sequence. As the dependent variable, we documented whether children used an over- or underhand grasp for each drawer. A majority of children switched from the default overhand to an underhand grasp for the lower drawers. The point-of-change shifted as a function of sequence: the children persisted in their initial, underhand grasp in the ascending and in an overhand grasp in the descending sequence. The results indicate that preschool children can inhibit the default grasp posture to adapt to the biomechanical requirements of a task and that hysteresis as a planning principle is either innate or already well developed at an early age.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101588"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144167233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101589
Jiao He , Rongke Xu , Yang Yang , Jo Van Hoof , Xiujie Yang
This study investigated the extent to which components of executive function (EF)—working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility—accounted for the unique variance in reading ability, arithmetic skills, and word problem solving, while considering the interplay among these academic abilities. While most of the research in this field has been conducted in Western countries, this study extends the literature by focusing on Chinese students. One hundred and eighteen Chinese children completed assessments in working memory (Sequential whack-a-mole task), inhibitory control (Go/No-Go task), cognitive flexibility (Task-switching), reading (reading fluency), and mathematics (numerical operations and word problem solving). The findings, derived from a multivariate multiple regression model, revealed that working memory was a significant predictor of all three academic abilities. Inhibitory control played as a substantial role in predicting reading ability and arithmetic skills. In contrast, cognitive flexibility did not show a significant relationship with any of these academic abilities. The results emphasize that not three components of EF are equally important in explaining variance in these academic skills among Chinese children.
{"title":"How do different executive function components contribute to children's academic skills?","authors":"Jiao He , Rongke Xu , Yang Yang , Jo Van Hoof , Xiujie Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101589","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101589","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigated the extent to which components of executive function (EF)—working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility—accounted for the unique variance in reading ability, arithmetic skills, and word problem solving, while considering the interplay among these academic abilities. While most of the research in this field has been conducted in Western countries, this study extends the literature by focusing on Chinese students. One hundred and eighteen Chinese children completed assessments in working memory (Sequential whack-a-mole task), inhibitory control (Go/No-Go task), cognitive flexibility (Task-switching), reading (reading fluency), and mathematics (numerical operations and word problem solving). The findings, derived from a multivariate multiple regression model, revealed that working memory was a significant predictor of all three academic abilities. Inhibitory control played as a substantial role in predicting reading ability and arithmetic skills. In contrast, cognitive flexibility did not show a significant relationship with any of these academic abilities. The results emphasize that not three components of EF are equally important in explaining variance in these academic skills among Chinese children.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101589"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144185299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101583
Qinyi Li , Zhuolei Ding , Chuansheng Chen , Xun Liu , Mingxia Zhang
Studies have revealed that self-determined choices are empowering and can enhance memory even for preschool children. However, previous studies have only examined the role of choice by comparing self-determined choice and unrelated others-determined choice, leaving it unknown how choices made by mothers affect memory. This study investigated the role of choice in memory by comparing memory performance in self-determined, mother-determined, and stranger-determined choice scenarios. Two independent samples of Chinese children aged 5–10 (n = 67 for Exp. 1 and 62 for Exp. 2) performed a choice encoding task and a recognition test, the latter of which was conducted either immediately (Exp. 1) or one day later (Exp. 2). Results on recognition accuracy showed that self-determined choices significantly enhanced both immediate and delayed recognition compared to mother- or stranger-determined choices, with no differences between the latter two. These effects were independent of age. Exploratory analyses of recognition reaction times suggested that younger children (approximately under age 6) tended to respond faster under self or mother-determined conditions compared to stranger-determined ones. Together, these findings support self-determination theory, and provide preliminary evidence for interdependent self-construal in Chinese children.
{"title":"The roles of self-, mother-, and stranger-determined choice in memory in 5- to 10-year-old Chinese children","authors":"Qinyi Li , Zhuolei Ding , Chuansheng Chen , Xun Liu , Mingxia Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101583","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101583","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Studies have revealed that self-determined choices are empowering and can enhance memory even for preschool children. However, previous studies have only examined the role of choice by comparing self-determined choice and unrelated others-determined choice, leaving it unknown how choices made by mothers affect memory. This study investigated the role of choice in memory by comparing memory performance in self-determined, mother-determined, and stranger-determined choice scenarios. Two independent samples of Chinese children aged 5–10 (n = 67 for Exp. 1 and 62 for Exp. 2) performed a choice encoding task and a recognition test, the latter of which was conducted either immediately (Exp. 1) or one day later (Exp. 2). Results on recognition accuracy showed that self-determined choices significantly enhanced both immediate and delayed recognition compared to mother- or stranger-determined choices, with no differences between the latter two. These effects were independent of age. Exploratory analyses of recognition reaction times suggested that younger children (approximately under age 6) tended to respond faster under self or mother-determined conditions compared to stranger-determined ones. Together, these findings support self-determination theory, and provide preliminary evidence for interdependent self-construal in Chinese children.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101583"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101576
Talya Raz, Shelley Shaul
This longitudinal study explores the developmental trajectories of executive functions (EFs) in children from kindergarten to third grade, considering diverse socioeconomic statuses (SES). EFs, which include working memory (WM), cognitive flexibility, and inhibition, play a pivotal role in children's academic and social success. This research aims to understand how EFs evolve, their relationship with SES, and the potential impact of schooling. Data from participants of different SES backgrounds were collected at three time points: kindergarten, first grade, and third grade. A battery of EF tasks was administered individually to assess different facets of EFs. Findings reveal distinct developmental patterns across EF components and SES groups. WM both auditory and visual exhibited significant improvements from kindergarten to third grade across all SES backgrounds, which demonstrated considerable enhancements, showcasing the maturation of memory capacity in children as they grow. SES exhibited a multifaceted relationship with EF development. Low SES children displayed lower performance in all EF masseurs except visual working memory. While schooling did not decrease the SES gaps in most abilities except for auditory short-term memory in which the gaps were eliminated, the gaps in inhibition were increased. These findings hold implications for educational policies promoting EFs, reducing disparities, and fostering equitable opportunities for all students.
{"title":"Executive functions development: A longitudinal study of children from kindergarten to third grade across varied socioeconomic backgrounds","authors":"Talya Raz, Shelley Shaul","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101576","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101576","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This longitudinal study explores the developmental trajectories of executive functions (EFs) in children from kindergarten to third grade, considering diverse socioeconomic statuses (SES). EFs, which include working memory (WM), cognitive flexibility, and inhibition, play a pivotal role in children's academic and social success. This research aims to understand how EFs evolve, their relationship with SES, and the potential impact of schooling. Data from participants of different SES backgrounds were collected at three time points: kindergarten, first grade, and third grade. A battery of EF tasks was administered individually to assess different facets of EFs. Findings reveal distinct developmental patterns across EF components and SES groups. WM both auditory and visual exhibited significant improvements from kindergarten to third grade across all SES backgrounds, which demonstrated considerable enhancements, showcasing the maturation of memory capacity in children as they grow. SES exhibited a multifaceted relationship with EF development. Low SES children displayed lower performance in all EF masseurs except visual working memory. While schooling did not decrease the SES gaps in most abilities except for auditory short-term memory in which the gaps were eliminated, the gaps in inhibition were increased. These findings hold implications for educational policies promoting EFs, reducing disparities, and fostering equitable opportunities for all students.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101576"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143791296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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