Capturing the Developmental Changes in Cognitive Control Engagement in Chinese Preschoolers
Young children typically engage in cognitive control reactively in response to specific situations, rather than proactively preparing for them. The developmental change from reactive to proactive control seems to happen gradually across early development and ultimately results in a qualitatively dif...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/2/142 |
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| author | Xufeng Ji Yihao Deng Qiong Zhang Yanlin Zhou |
| author_facet | Xufeng Ji Yihao Deng Qiong Zhang Yanlin Zhou |
| author_sort | Xufeng Ji |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Young children typically engage in cognitive control reactively in response to specific situations, rather than proactively preparing for them. The developmental change from reactive to proactive control seems to happen gradually across early development and ultimately results in a qualitatively different behavior pattern. However, existing evidence is mainly based on cross-sectional designs. Thus, this study adopted a longitudinal design to examine the transition from reactive control to proactive control in preschoolers. Sixty preschoolers aged 4 (<i>n</i> = 31) and 5 (<i>n</i> = 29) were recruited and required to complete two cognitive control tasks (i.e., an AX-Continuous Performance Test and a Cued Task-Switching task) twice within a five-month interval. The results showed that the children improved their cognitive control skills across both tasks, demonstrating a predominantly reactive control pattern during the time interval. This improvement reflects an age-related gradual change, which is a preparation for evolving into a qualitatively different behavioral pattern over time. These findings provide longitudinal evidence for the developmental change from reactive to proactive control in early childhood strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fd6361b8126246d5a409e21b2e9c840d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-fd6361b8126246d5a409e21b2e9c840d2025-08-20T03:12:16ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2025-01-0115214210.3390/bs15020142Capturing the Developmental Changes in Cognitive Control Engagement in Chinese PreschoolersXufeng Ji0Yihao Deng1Qiong Zhang2Yanlin Zhou3Faculty of Teacher Education, Lishui University, Lishui 323000, ChinaDepartment of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, ChinaDepartment of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, ChinaDepartment of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, ChinaYoung children typically engage in cognitive control reactively in response to specific situations, rather than proactively preparing for them. The developmental change from reactive to proactive control seems to happen gradually across early development and ultimately results in a qualitatively different behavior pattern. However, existing evidence is mainly based on cross-sectional designs. Thus, this study adopted a longitudinal design to examine the transition from reactive control to proactive control in preschoolers. Sixty preschoolers aged 4 (<i>n</i> = 31) and 5 (<i>n</i> = 29) were recruited and required to complete two cognitive control tasks (i.e., an AX-Continuous Performance Test and a Cued Task-Switching task) twice within a five-month interval. The results showed that the children improved their cognitive control skills across both tasks, demonstrating a predominantly reactive control pattern during the time interval. This improvement reflects an age-related gradual change, which is a preparation for evolving into a qualitatively different behavioral pattern over time. These findings provide longitudinal evidence for the developmental change from reactive to proactive control in early childhood strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/2/142reactive controlproactive controlAX continuous performance taskcued task-switching paradigm |
| spellingShingle | Xufeng Ji Yihao Deng Qiong Zhang Yanlin Zhou Capturing the Developmental Changes in Cognitive Control Engagement in Chinese Preschoolers Behavioral Sciences reactive control proactive control AX continuous performance task cued task-switching paradigm |
| title | Capturing the Developmental Changes in Cognitive Control Engagement in Chinese Preschoolers |
| title_full | Capturing the Developmental Changes in Cognitive Control Engagement in Chinese Preschoolers |
| title_fullStr | Capturing the Developmental Changes in Cognitive Control Engagement in Chinese Preschoolers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Capturing the Developmental Changes in Cognitive Control Engagement in Chinese Preschoolers |
| title_short | Capturing the Developmental Changes in Cognitive Control Engagement in Chinese Preschoolers |
| title_sort | capturing the developmental changes in cognitive control engagement in chinese preschoolers |
| topic | reactive control proactive control AX continuous performance task cued task-switching paradigm |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/2/142 |
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