Enhancing the executive functions of 3-year-olds in the Dimensional Change Card Sort task. Child Dev 2015;86(3):812-27
Date
12/03/2014Pubmed ID
25441395Pubmed Central ID
PMC4646608DOI
10.1111/cdev.12330Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84929049377 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 31 CitationsAbstract
Executive functions enable flexible thinking, something young children are notoriously bad at. For instance, in the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) task, 3-year-olds can sort cards by one dimension (shape), but continue to sort by this dimension when asked to switch (to color). This study tests a prediction of a dynamic neural field model that prior experience with the postswitch dimension can enhance 3-year-olds' performance in the DCCS. In Experiment 1A, a matching game was used to preexpose 3-year-olds (n = 36) to color. This facilitated switching from sorting by shape to color. In , 3-year-olds (n = 18) were preexposed to shape. This did not facilitate switching from sorting by color to shape. The model was used to explain this asymmetry.
Author List
Perone S, Molitor SJ, Buss AT, Spencer JP, Samuelson LKAuthor
Stephen Molitor PhD Assistant Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Child DevelopmentChild, Preschool
Color Perception
Concept Formation
Executive Function
Female
Form Perception
Humans
Male