TY - JOUR
T1 - Stop saying that it is wrong! Psychophysiological, cognitive, and metacognitive markers of children's Sensitivity to Punishment
AU - Gonzalez-Gadea, Maria Luz
AU - Scheres, Anouk
AU - Tobon, Carlos Andres
AU - Damm, Juliane
AU - Baez, Sandra
AU - Huepe, David
AU - Marino, Julian
AU - Marder, Sandra
AU - Manes, Facundo
AU - Abrevaya, Sofia
AU - Ibanez, Agustin
N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2015. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2015/7/28
Y1 - 2015/7/28
N2 - Neurodevelopmental evidence suggests that children's main decision-making strategy is to avoid options likely to induce punishment. However, the cognitive and affective factors contributing to children's avoidance to high punishment frequency remain unknown. The present study explored psychophysiological, cognitive, and metacognitive processes associated with sensitivity to punishment frequency. We evaluated 54 participants (between 8 and 15 years old) with a modified Iowa Gambling Task for children (IGT-C) which included options with varying long-Term profit and punishment frequencies. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded during this task. Additionally, we assessed IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, fluid intelligence, and executive functions. Participants exhibited behavioral avoidance and high anticipatory SCRs to options with high frequency of punishment. Moreover, age, IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, and inhibitory control were associated with individual differences in sensitivity to punishment frequency. Our results suggest that children's preference for infrequently punished decisions is partially explained by psychophysiological signals as well as task complexity and development of cognitive control.
AB - Neurodevelopmental evidence suggests that children's main decision-making strategy is to avoid options likely to induce punishment. However, the cognitive and affective factors contributing to children's avoidance to high punishment frequency remain unknown. The present study explored psychophysiological, cognitive, and metacognitive processes associated with sensitivity to punishment frequency. We evaluated 54 participants (between 8 and 15 years old) with a modified Iowa Gambling Task for children (IGT-C) which included options with varying long-Term profit and punishment frequencies. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were recorded during this task. Additionally, we assessed IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, fluid intelligence, and executive functions. Participants exhibited behavioral avoidance and high anticipatory SCRs to options with high frequency of punishment. Moreover, age, IGT-C metacognitive knowledge, and inhibitory control were associated with individual differences in sensitivity to punishment frequency. Our results suggest that children's preference for infrequently punished decisions is partially explained by psychophysiological signals as well as task complexity and development of cognitive control.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84941622984&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0133683
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0133683
M3 - Article
C2 - 26218584
AN - SCOPUS:84941622984
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 10
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 7
M1 - 0133683
ER -