Understanding autonomous behaviour development: Exploring the developmental contributions of context‐tracking and task selection to self‐directed cognitive control

Frick, Aurélien; Brandimonte, Maria A.; Chevalier, Nicolas · 2022 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1111/desc.13222

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Summary

This study investigates the developmental trajectory of self-directed cognitive control, specifically examining how children transition from externally driven to autonomous goal regulation. The authors propose that successful self-directed control relies on two distinct processes: context-tracking (monitoring past actions and goals) and task selection (choosing appropriate behaviors based on that context). While previous research has focused on externally cued tasks, this work addresses the gap in understanding how children manage control without explicit prompts. The researchers hypothesized that age-related improvements in self-directed control are primarily driven by advancements in context-tracking rather than task selection. To test this, the authors conducted two studies using a child-friendly voluntary task-switching (VTS) paradigm with 5–6-year-olds, 9–10-year-olds, and adults. In Study 1, the difficulty of context-tracking was manipulated by providing or withholding visual cues indicating how many times each task had been performed (contextual support vs. no support). In Study 2, the difficulty of task selection was manipulated by varying task difficulty symmetry (symmetric vs. asymmetric task demands). Performance was assessed using three metrics: probability of switching (p(switch)), task balance (equality of task performance), and task unpredictability (randomness of selection). The results indicated that p(switch) did not differ significantly across age groups or conditions, suggesting it is an insufficient metric for capturing developmental changes in self-directed control. However, task balance revealed significant age-related differences. Children performed tasks less equally than adults, particularly in the absence of contextual support. Providing contextual support significantly improved task balance in children but not in adults, indicating that children’s difficulties stem largely from sub-optimal context-tracking. Regarding task unpredictability, younger children relied more heavily on predictable strategies (e.g., strict alternation or repetition) compared to older children and adults. Study 2 further confirmed that while task selection difficulty affects performance, the primary developmental lag lies in the ability to track context without external aids. The findings conclude that developmental progress in self-directed cognitive control is mainly attributable to improvements in context-tracking. Children struggle to maintain a mental representation of their progress toward goals without external cues, leading to imbalanced task performance. This distinction clarifies that while children can execute task switches, their inability to autonomously monitor and balance goal pursuit limits their independent cognitive control. These insights suggest that interventions aimed at fostering autonomy in childhood should focus on scaffolding context-tracking mechanisms rather than merely practicing task execution.

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• executive function