Can I Afford One More Candy? How Motivational Contexts Shape Adaptive Cognitive Control in Children
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| Title: | Can I Afford One More Candy? How Motivational Contexts Shape Adaptive Cognitive Control in Children |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Lisa Toffoli (ORCID |
| Source: | Developmental Psychology. 2026 62(4):765-778. |
| Availability: | American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 14 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Intelligence Tests, Young Children, Adjustment (to Environment), Executive Function, Self Motivation, Thinking Skills, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Rating Scales, Risk, Child Behavior |
| Geographic Terms: | Italy |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Raven Progressive Matrices, Conners Rating Scales |
| DOI: | 10.1037/dev0001976 |
| ISSN: | 0012-1649 1939-0599 |
| Abstract: | Recent findings suggest that preschoolers are capable of adapting cognitive control (CC) through bottom-up associative learning. However, it is not clear how motivational contextual triggers may influence this ability. This study investigated adaptive CC in a "hot" experimental context administering a modified version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task to 170 children (83 F; 4-7 years). Specifically, a proportion manipulation induced different risky attitudes based on item-specific features (i.e., the balloon color). Overall, children were capable of inferring environmental regularities embedded in the context to optimize their performance. Regarding their ability to exploit and update these regularities for flexible CC adaptation, results suggest that reversal learning is ambiguous at the block level--overshadowed by a general increase in risk-taking--but tentatively present at the sub-block level, with asymmetric effects. Indeed, children seem to successfully adapt CC when going from a low to a high advantageous context but not vice versa. Moreover, different adaptive CC profiles were predictive of daily behavioral difficulties revealed by parental questionnaires. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://osf.io/shuq2/?view_only=d782e9a30df643dd8e73f445354d74de |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1503361 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Recent findings suggest that preschoolers are capable of adapting cognitive control (CC) through bottom-up associative learning. However, it is not clear how motivational contextual triggers may influence this ability. This study investigated adaptive CC in a "hot" experimental context administering a modified version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task to 170 children (83 F; 4-7 years). Specifically, a proportion manipulation induced different risky attitudes based on item-specific features (i.e., the balloon color). Overall, children were capable of inferring environmental regularities embedded in the context to optimize their performance. Regarding their ability to exploit and update these regularities for flexible CC adaptation, results suggest that reversal learning is ambiguous at the block level--overshadowed by a general increase in risk-taking--but tentatively present at the sub-block level, with asymmetric effects. Indeed, children seem to successfully adapt CC when going from a low to a high advantageous context but not vice versa. Moreover, different adaptive CC profiles were predictive of daily behavioral difficulties revealed by parental questionnaires. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0012-1649 1939-0599 |
| DOI: | 10.1037/dev0001976 |
