THE DEVELOPMENT OF COGNITIVE CONTROL IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
Azhar Ali Muhammad1, Prof. Dr. Intisar Hashim Mahdi2
1Department of Psychology, University of Baghdad (Ibn Rushd), Baghdad City, and Department of Psychology, University of Karbala, Karbala City, Iraq.
azhr.ali2102p@ircoedu.uobaghdad.edu.iq
2Department of Psychology, University of Baghdad (Ibn Rushd), Baghdad, Iraq.
Intisar.hashim@ircoedu.uobaghdad.edu.iq
Abstract: children become more efficient in coordinating different cognitive control mechanisms in response to sudden changes in task demands and performance monitoring outcomes، The aim of the current research is to identify the development of cognitive control in children and adolescents aged (8, 11, 14, 17) and to know the significance of the difference in cognitive control according to the variables of age and gender (males, females). A computerized (Erkson-Flanker) task was used that included (144) An experiment, and the research sample consisted of (240) children and adolescents who were selected by random stratified method from educational institutions in the city of Baghdad and its two sides (Al-Karkh and Al-Rusafa). The results of the current research showed that there were improvements in cognitive control abilities with increasing age, and there was an effect of the gender variable in favor of males, that is, Males are more controlling than females.
Keywords: Cognitive Control, Children, Adolescents, Inhibition, Cognitive flexibility, Working memory. Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors. Corresponding author: Azhar Ali Muhammad, Department of Psychology, University of Karbala, Karbala City, Iraq.