%0 Journal Article
%T Structure and Implementation of Novel Task Rules: A Cross
%A Frederick Verbruggen
%A Maayan Pereg
%A Nachshon Meiran
%A Rossy McLaren
%J Psychological Science
%@ 1467-9280
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0956797618755322
%X Rule-based performance improves remarkably throughout childhood. The present study examined how children and adolescents structured tasks and implemented rules when novel task instructions were presented in a child-friendly version of a novel instruction-learning paradigm. Each miniblock started with the presentation of new stimulus-response mappings for a go task. Before this mapping could be implemented, subjects had to make responses in order to advance through screens during a preparatory (Ħ°nextĦħ) phase. Children (4¨C11 years old) and late adolescents (17¨C19 years old) responded more slowly during the next phase when the next response was incompatible with the instructed stimulus-response mapping. This instruction-based interference effect was more pronounced in young children than in older children. We argue that these findings are most consistent with age-related differences in rule structuring. We discuss the implications of our findings for theories of rule-based performance, instruction-based learning, and development
%K cognitive development
%K rule implementation
%K task instructions
%K intention-based reflexivity
%K interference
%K open data
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797618755322