Developmental Differences on Cognitive Inhibition in Children and Adults: Evidence from Vigilance Task

The following study was carried out to know the developmental differences in cognitive inhibition between children and adults using auditory and visual vigilance tasks. A total of 62 Kannada – English bilingual speakers participated, divided into two groups. Test stimuli consisted of single digit numbers (1 to 9), presented randomly through headphones for the auditory vigilance task and visual presentation of the digits on a white screen for the visual vigilance task. Subjects were instructed to pay attention only to the target digit <6>, and to press the key as quickly and accurately as possible. DmDx software was programmed to recognize this as the genuine response. The reaction time (RT) and accuracy rate were calculated in milliseconds and percentage respectively. Results revealed significant difference across age groups for RT and accuracy rate. The findings of the study indicated slower reaction time and reduced accuracy rate in younger children, supporting the hypothesis of cognitive inhibition.