More than a matter of getting 'unstuck': flexible thinkers use more abstract representations than perseverators
More than a matter of getting 'unstuck': flexible thinkers use more abstract representations than perseverators
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00799.x
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发表时间：
2009-07-01
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Munakata, Yuko
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kharitonova, Maria;Chien, Sarina;Munakata, Yuko
为什么人们坚持不懈，重复先前不再合适的行为？许多解释指出，在抑制或注意力等过程中存在孤立的缺陷。相反，我们假设了规则表征的根本区别：灵活切换者使用依赖于后期发展的前额皮质区域的主动表征，并且更加抽象，而持久性使用依赖于早期发展的后皮层和皮层下区域的潜在表征，并且更具刺激特异性。因此，尽管转换者和坚持者应该同样可靠地将他们使用的规则应用于熟悉的刺激，但坚持者在将他们的规则推广到新刺激时应该表现出独特的局限性，这一过程需要抽象表征。两个行为实验证实了这一反直觉的预测。三岁的孩子按照一种规则分类卡片，然后被要求切换到另一种规则，然后被要求继续他们的行为，用新的卡片。坚持不懈者使用他们正在使用的规则（第一条规则），就像转换者使用他们正在使用的规则（第二条规则）来处理熟悉的牌一样可靠；然而，只有转换者将他们的规则推广到新牌上。这一发现支持了支持切换的主动表示和支持泛化的抽象表示之间的早期联系。我们从前额皮质发育的角度来解释这种协同作用。
Why do people perseverate, repeating prior behaviours that are no longer appropriate? Many accounts point to isolated deficits in processes such as inhibition or attention. We instead posit a fundamental difference in rule representations: flexible switchers use active representations that rely on later-developing prefrontal cortical areas and are more abstract, whereas perseverators use latent representations that rely on earlier-developing posterior cortical and subcortical areas and are more stimulus-specific. Thus, although switchers and perseverators should apply the rules they use to familiar stimuli equally reliably, perseverators should show unique limitations in generalizing their rules to novel stimuli, a process that requires abstract representations. Two behavioural experiments confirmed this counterintuitive prediction early in development. Three-year-old children sorted cards by one rule, were asked to switch to another rule, and then were asked simply to continue their behaviour, with novel cards. Perseverators applied the rule they were using (the first rule) just as reliably as switchers applied the rule they were using (the second rule) with familiar cards; however, only switchers generalized their rule to novel cards. This finding supports an early link between active representations that support switching and abstract representations that support generalization. We interpret this synergy in terms of prefrontal cortical development.