Sorting between dimensions: Conditions of cognitive flexibility in preschoolers

Kloo, Daniela; Perner, Josef; Kerschhuber, Angelika; Dabernig, Sandra; Aichhorn, Markus

doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2007.12.003

Cited by 38 publications

(39 citation statements)

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“…switching from the “same” to “silly” game) as opposed to hearing the standard instructions that refer to a dimensional shift. In some cases, the task stimuli were identical with that of the standard task (i.e., bidimensional with each target card conflicting with test cards on one of two dimensions; Brooks, Hanauer, Padowska, & Rosman, 2003a; Kloo, Perner, Kerschhuber, Dabernig, & Aichhorn, 2008). Children’s relatively poor performance on the bidimensional reversal contrasts with their relatively good performance on the unidimensional reversal, which also uses the “same” to “silly” game instructions but with stimuli that only vary on one dimension.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A meta-analysis of the Dimensional Change Card Sort: Implications for developmental theories and the measurement of executive function in children

Doebel

Zelazo

2015

Developmental Review

142

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The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) is a widely used measure of executive function in children. In the standard version, children are shown cards depicting objects that vary on two dimensions (e.g., colored shapes such as red rabbits and blue boats), and are told to sort them first by one set of rules (e.g., shape) and then by another (e.g., color). Most 3-year-olds persist in sorting by the pre-switch rules, whereas 5-year-olds switch flexibly. We conducted a meta-analysis of standard and experimental versions of the task (N = 69 reports, 426 conditions) to examine the influence of diverse task variations on performance. Age, how the test stimuli were labeled for the child, emphasis on conflict in the verbal introduction of the post-switch rules, and the number of pre-switch trials each independently predicted switching on the standard DCCS, whereas pre-switch feedback, practice, and task modality did not. Increasing the relative salience of the post-switch dimension was associated with higher rates of switching, and, conversely, decreasing post-switch salience was associated with lower rates of switching, and under both kinds of manipulation performance continued to be associated with age. Spatially separating the dimensional values was associated with higher rates of switching, and it was confirmed that the degree of spatial separation matters, with children benefiting most when the dimensional values are fully spatially segregated. Switch rates tended to be higher in versions on which children were prompted to label the stimuli compared to when the experimenter provided labels, and lower when reversal instructions were used in conjunction with the standard task stimuli. Theoretical and practical implications for the study and measurement of executive function in early childhood are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A meta-analysis of the Dimensional Change Card Sort: Implications for developmental theories and the measurement of executive function in children

Doebel

Zelazo

2015

Developmental Review

142

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“…Numerous studies have been published using reversal learning to investigate flexibility in a wide range of different animal species (e.g. rhesus monkeys, Macaca mulatta : Herndon, Moss, Rosene, & Killiany, 1997; Göttingen minipig, Sus scrofa : Moustgaard, Arnfred, Lind, Hansen, & Hemmingsen, 2004; North American corvids ( Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus, Nucifraga columbiana, Aphelocoma californica ): Bond et al., 2007; rats: Floresco, Block, & Tse, 2008; capuchin monkeys, Cebus apella : Beran et al., 2008; humans: Kloo, Perner, Kerschhuber, Dabernig, & Aichhorn, 2008; kea: Gajdon et al., 2011). Reversal learning is defined as the reversal of an original problem after reaching a learning criterion in the training phase (Sutherland & Mackintosh, 1971).…”

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confidence: 99%

The advantage of objects over images in discrimination and reversal learning by kea, Nestor notabilis

2015

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Studies investigating the same paradigm but employing different methods are often directly compared in the literature. One such paradigm used to assess behavioural flexibility in animals is reversal learning. Commonly, these studies require individuals to learn the reward contingency of either solid objects presented on the ground or images presented on a touchscreen. Once learned, these contingencies are swapped. Researchers often refer to trials required to reach learning criteria from different studies, to compare the flexibility of different species, but rarely take methodological differences into account. A direct evaluation of the validity of such comparisons is lacking. To address this latent question, we confronted kea, an alpine parrot species of New Zealand and known for its behavioural flexibility, with a standard reversal learning paradigm on the touchscreen and a standard reversal learning paradigm with solid objects. The kea required significantly more trials to reach criterion in the acquisition and the reversal on the touchscreen. Also, the absolute increase in the number of trials required for the reversal was significantly greater on the touchscreen. This indicates that it is not valid to compare learning speed across studies that do not correspond in the addressed methodology. Taking into account the kea's ecology and explorative nature we discuss stimulus abstraction (limited depth cues and tactile stimulus feedback) and the spatial relation between reward and stimulus on the touchscreen as possible causes for decreased inhibition in this condition. Contrary to the absolute increase in number of trials required for the reversal, the increase in relation to the acquisition was greater with solid objects. This highlights the need for further research on the mechanisms involved causing methodology-dependent differences, some of which we discuss, in order to increase the validity of interpretations across studies and in respect to the subject's ecology.

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“…Specifically, if the post-switch rules are given while the target cards are removed or if the concepts of shape-rules and color-rules are explained in detail before the child sorts, 3-year-olds have less difficulty switching rules (Mack, 2007). Further, if children are instructed to play a ‘silly’ version of the pre-switch game and to match the test cards to the opposite of the pre-switch features during the post-switch phase (e.g., matching red to blue and blue to red) 3-year-olds are able to switch rules (Kloo, Perner, Kerschhuber, Dabernig, & Aichhorn, 2008; however, see also Brooks, Hanauer, Padowska, & Rosman, 2003 who show children are worse with bi-dimensional stimuli than with uni-dimensional stimuli in this ‘silly’ version of the task). This highlights that children's representation of the task-switch is critical to perseveration or success in the DCCS.…”

Section: The Development Of Executive Function: a Case Study Of The Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another alternative account put forth by Kloo et al (2008) and Kloo and Perner (2005)—the Re-description hypothesis—frames children's difficulty in the DCCS around an inability to re-describe objects. They suggest that children use a more general matching strategy along dimensions (e.g., match by color) than a hierarchy of rules.…”

Section: The Development Of Executive Function: a Case Study Of The Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further, when the post-switch is introduced as a ‘silly’ version of the first game and children are instructed to match the pre-switch features to the opposite target cards, children do not need to re-describe the test cards by the new dimension and they typically succeed. What develops to allow correct rule-switching, according to this view, is “a conceptual understanding that things can be described differently under different perspectives” (p. 132, Kloo et al, 2008). …”

Section: The Development Of Executive Function: a Case Study Of The Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Abstract

2014

Monographs Society Res Child

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A dynamic neural field (DNF) model is presented which provides a process-based account of behavior and developmental change in a key task used to probe the early development of executive function—the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. In the DCCS, children must flexibly switch from sorting cards either by shape or color to sorting by the other dimension. Typically, 3-year-olds, but not 4-year-olds, lack the flexibility to do so and perseverate on the first set of rules when instructed to switch. In the DNF model, rule-use and behavioral flexibility come about through a form of dimensional attention which modulates activity within different cortical fields tuned to specific feature dimensions. In particular, we capture developmental change by increasing the strength of excitatory and inhibitory neural interactions in the dimensional attention system as well as refining the connectivity between this system and the feature-specific cortical fields. Note that although this enables the model to effectively switch tasks, the dimensional attention system does not ‘know’ the details of task-specific performance. Rather, correct performance emerges as a property of system-wide neural interactions. We show how this captures children's behavior in quantitative detail across 12 versions of the DCCS task. Moreover, we successfully test a set of novel predictions with 3-year-old children from a version of the task not explained by other theories.

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Sorting between dimensions: Conditions of cognitive flexibility in preschoolers

Cited by 38 publications

References 50 publications

A meta-analysis of the Dimensional Change Card Sort: Implications for developmental theories and the measurement of executive function in children

A meta-analysis of the Dimensional Change Card Sort: Implications for developmental theories and the measurement of executive function in children

The advantage of objects over images in discrimination and reversal learning by kea, Nestor notabilis

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