Chunk #6 — Changes in Frontal EEG Coherence across Infancy Predict Cognitive Abilities at Age 3: The Mediating Role of Attentional Control — The Role of Attentional Control in the Development of Higher-Level Cognition
Cognitive flexibility is one of the most extensively studied components of executive function, and is defined as the ability to switch between thinking about different concepts, or to think about multiple concepts simultaneously (Jacques & Zelazo, 2005), both of which are essential for basic learning. At low levels of cognitive flexibility, individuals tend to perseverate, or repeat an erroneous response pattern. Assessment of cognitive flexibility in both children and adults has largely relied on the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task developed by Zelazo and his colleagues (Zelazo, Frye, & Rapus, 1996). In the modified version of this task, children are required to sort a series of bivalent cards, first using one set of features (e.g., color), and then using the other (e.g., shape). Prior to 4-years of age, performance on this task is highly variable, with some children continuing to sort the second set of cards by the old features (Kirkham, Cruess, & Diamond, 2003; Zelazo et al., 1996; Zelazo, Müller, Frye, & Marcovitch, 2003).
