@misc{10481/64583,
year = {2020},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10481/64583},
abstract = {Thus far, little research has examined dynamics of conflict
monitoring and cognitive flexibility processes if both cognitive functions
are simultaneously demanded by a task. Further evidence on
electrophysiological activity underlying performance in tasks that
combine demands on diverse cognitive control functions is needed
specially in middle childhood, given the increasing complexity of cognitive functions of inhibition and flexibility in this developmental
stage. The present study intended to provide further evidence on this by
investigating electrophysiological brain activity underlying task-set
maintenance and adjustment demands in middle childhood in association
with children performance. For this purpose, we measured
electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and examined N2 and P3 ERPs
as indices of the involvement of inhibition and flexibility during
performance of a version of the Dots task in a group of 8-to-9-year-old
children. In accordance with the conflict monitoring, response inhibition
and cognitive flexibility demands, we expected to find poorer
performance (i.e., decreased accuracy and increased reaction time) and
increased N2 (i.e., more negative) and P3 (i.e., more positive) amplitudes
when comparing: a) incongruent and congruent trials, b) mixed and
simple blocks, and c) switch and repeat trials within the mixed block. As
stated in the Introduction, the global context where single trials are
presented influences performance (Davidson et al., 2006). In line with
this, as the global context of the mixed block poses inhibition and
flexibility demands, participants are expected to show undermined
performance and increased N2 and P3 amplitudes even in less conflicting
(i.e., congruent) trials. In addition to this, and in line with findings of Vu
and Proctor (2004) concerning the elimination of the Simon effect in a
block that intermixes spatial compatible and spatial incompatible trials,
we hypothesized that the inhibition-related congruency effect at both
behavioral (i.e., the greater difficulty to perform incongruent / spatialincompatible
than congruent / spatial-compatible trials) and
electrophysiological levels (i.e., the greater N2 and P3 amplitudes to
spatial-incompatible than to spatial-compatible trials) would be
attenuated within the mixed block. Finally, we explored the association between behavioral indices of conflict resolution and cognitive flexibility
and mean amplitudes in N2 and P3 locked to correct targets. As already
exposed, there is mixed evidence concerning N2. Here, we argue that N2
amplitude in childhood indexes the extent to which children monitor
performance and detect the need of implementing cognitive control for
behavioral adjustment (Best & Miller, 2010). Moreover, greater (i.e.,
more negative) N2 amplitudes in childhood do not necessarily address
impaired performance but rather the relative immaturity of conflict
monitoring mechanism in middle childhood (Casey et al., 1997; Durston
et al., 2006). Then, we expected that more negative N2 amplitudes would
associate with better accuracy performance. Concerning P3, in line with
the literature pointing that more positive P3 amplitudes link to better
processing and allocation of task-relevant cognitive resources in
childhood (e.g., Brydges et al., 2014), more positive P3 amplitudes were
expected to associate with greater accuracy. The link of N2 and P3 with
reaction time was explored.},
organization = {Tesis Univ. Granada.},
publisher = {Universidad de Granada},
keywords = {Executive function},
keywords = {Social cognition},
keywords = {Prejudices},
keywords = {Minority groups},
title = {Development of executive function and social cognition and its relation with prejudice toward minority groups},
author = {Hoyo Ramiro, Ángela Victoria},
}