About this paper symposium

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Panel information
Panel 4. Cognitive Processes

Paper #1
Individual Differences in Preschoolers’ Decision Making and Cool Executive Functions
Author information	Role
Nancy Garon, Mount Allison University, Canada	Presenting author
Bronwyn Inness, Mount Allison University, Canada	Non-presenting author
Ellen Doucet, Mount Allison University, Canada	Non-presenting author
Abstract
While we know that there are age differences in early decision-making, we have relatively less information on individual differences. Research using the Child Gambling task (CGT), for instance, indicates age improvements in advantageous decisions from 3 years to 5 years of age. The main aim of this study was to explore individual differences in decision-making and executive functioning in a sample of typically developing preschoolers in a small city in Canada (N=635). Decision-making was assessed using a preschool-adapted variant of the Iowa Gambling task. Cool executive functions were assessed using the Preschool Executive Function Battery (PEFB). A latent profile analysis (LPA) was calculated using seven indicator variables: four decision-making variables (explore & exploit scores in the first and last half of the decision-making task), and scores on working memory, response inhibition, and attention shifting. The LPA indicated that three profiles were the best fit. The largest profile was made up of children who had the most adaptive decision-making: they showed a moderate level of exploration of the options in the beginning of the game and a large increase in choice of advantageous cards throughout the game. They also showed higher overall cool executive functions in comparison to other profiles. The next largest profile consisted of children who failed to develop a consistent preference for either deck, showing consistently high exploration across the decision-making task. However, these children showed a relatively higher score on response inhibition, but lower scores on working memory and attention shifting in comparison to the first profile. Finally, the third profile was made up of children who showed a moderate level of exploration during the first half of decision-making, but a significant preference for the disadvantageous deck in the last half of the game. Furthermore, they showed a lower level of response inhibition in comparison to the other profiles. These results highlight the importance of looking at individual differences in addition to age differences in the context of decision making in early childhood.

Paper #2
Executive Function and Metacognition Moderate Relations Between Temperament and Explore-Exploit Decision-Making in Preschoolers
Author information	Role
Seokyung Kim, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, United States	Presenting author
Daniel Berry, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, United States	Non-presenting author
Stephanie M. Carlson, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Young children often engage in exploratory behaviors even at personal cost, but some predominantly exploit in learning tasks. These findings highlight the need for individual differences research on early childhood decision-making and potential factors leading to those differences. Emerging literature suggests this phenomenon might be partially driven by temperament-level approach/avoidance tendencies and self-regulation skills. Given that balancing exploration with exploitation becomes increasingly important as children grow, it is crucial to study how temperament and self-regulation interact to shape children’s use of strategies. In this study, we examined how the relation between preschoolers' approach/avoidance tendencies and explore-exploit patterns varied as a function of their self-regulation. We hypothesized that approach tendencies (curiosity and behavioral approach system (BAS)) would predict greater exploration or less exploitation during a learning task, yet the magnitude of this relation would be weaker for children with stronger self-regulation. In contrast, we hypothesized that stronger avoidance tendencies (behavioral inhibition system (BIS)) would predict less exploration or greater exploitation, yet the magnitude of this relation would be weaker for children with stronger self-regulation. These hypotheses were based on the prediction that self-regulation would help children regulate their intrinsic drives, preventing excessive use of a single strategy. Ninety-eight typically developing 3-5-year-old preschoolers in an urban setting in the midwestern US participated. Parents completed Lee et al.’s (2023) Early Multidimensional Curiosity Scale and Vervoort et al. (2019)’s BAS/BIS scales. Children completed the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS), a modified Children's Gambling Task (Kerr & Zelazo, 2004) with 40 trials, and a metacognition interview about the gambling task. Self-regulation was computed as the average between z-scores from MEFS and metacognition (r=.34, p<.01). Exploration was computed as the proportion of deck switches in 39 paired trials, and exploitation as the proportion of consecutive advantageous deck choices. To test our hypotheses, we conducted quasibinomial regression analyses adjusting for gender (Table 1 and Figure 1). Consistent with our hypothesis, self-regulation marginally moderated the relation between BAS and exploration (B=-1.07, p=.07), but not exploitation. Specifically, simple slope analysis showed that higher BAS scores marginally predicted greater exploration for children with low self-regulation (B=1.61, p=.06). Self-regulation also moderated the relation between curiosity and exploitation (B=1.18, p=.03), but not exploration. Specifically, greater curiosity predicted less exploitation for children with low self-regulation (B=-1.71, p=.02). However, neither BAS nor curiosity predicted decision-making patterns for children with average or high self-regulation. Lastly, contrary to our hypotheses, self-regulation did not moderate the respective relations between BIS and exploration or exploitation. These findings highlight the nuanced relations between temperament, self-regulation, and explore-exploit decision-making. Children with low self-regulation were more vulnerable to difficulties in managing their temperament during decision-making, but once children develop at least average self-regulation skills, they can avoid excessive reliance on either exploration or exploitation strategies associated with temperamental impulses and exhibit more balanced decision-making. This study underscores self-regulation as a potential target for future interventions aimed at improving children’s strategic decision-making.

Paper #3
Children's Spontaneous Commitment and Intention Coordination in Individual and Social Decision-Making Contexts
Author information	Role
Shaozhe Cheng, Duke University, United States	Presenting author
Kaelin Main, Duke University, United States	Non-presenting author
Tao Gao, University of California, Los Angeles, United States	Non-presenting author
Tamar Kushnir, Duke University, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Forming intentions and committing to them are essential for effective action coordination over time, both in coordinating with one's future self and with others (Bratman, 1987; Michael, 2022). However, real-world environments are dynamic, with new information frequently emerging that can impact one's commitment. In two studies, we explored children’s emerging ability to set, pursue and commit to goals in a sequential decision-making task. We aimed to understand how children’s commitment to their goals is influenced by new information in the form of 1) new emerging possible goals, and 2) other agents pursuing goals in the same environment. Study 1: Goal commitment. When acting individually in dynamic environments, adults tend to commit to their intended goals, even when newly appearing goals make their committed plans suboptimal (Cheng et al., 2023). While even infants readily attribute goals when observing others' actions (Csibra, 2008), it remains unclear whether commitment to goals in one's own decision-making also emerges in very early childhood, as commitment involves not only goal representation but also active self-regulation (Tomasello, 2024). Children from kindergartens in a large city in China (N=50, Mage=5.9 years, SD=0.18; range=6.01–6.75) engaged in a Pac-Man-like task that required them to pursue a stream of goals (Figure 1). When one goal was pursued, a new goal would appear. Results showed that 6-year-olds demonstrated adult-like commitment: they continued to pursue the old goal, whereas 5-year-olds were more likely to choose the new goal (Figure 1e). Additionally, we found that children's commitment was positively correlated with the use of proactive control, as measured with an AX-Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT; Chatham et al., 2009). Study 2: Social mindfulness. In adults, the presence of other agents influences goal pursuit: even when coordination is not required to accomplish individual goals, adults spontaneously consider other’s perspectives when deciding how to act (Sebanz & Knoblich, 2009). While young children are sensitive to other’s perspectives when evaluating decisions (e.g. Zhao et al., 2021), it remains unclear whether the mere presence of social others impacts children’s goal pursuit and commitment. In an ongoing study, children from a mid-sized city in the US (N=15, Mage=6.56, SD=0.98) are given free rein to pursue either of two static goals while another agent is playing the same game simultaneously (Figure 2a). Children were explicitly told they could pursue any goal regardless of the other agent’s plans. Preliminary results indicate that both 5- and 6-year-olds spontaneously consider the other agent’s intentions, as evidenced by the decision to set opposite goals to the other player. However, our preliminary analyses suggest that children only avoid others' goals if they also wait for others to reveal their intentions (Figure 2b), suggesting there are potential individual differences in children’s spontaneous social consideration while they are pursuing their goals. Together, these studies demonstrate children's emerging ability to adapt to changing environments in sequential decision-making tasks, and further suggest that it is mediated by mechanisms of cognitive control and social attention. These results have implications for the development of goal-pursuit and self-regulation in real-world contexts.

Paper #4
The Interplay of Trait and State Social Curiosity in Children’s Prosocial Decision-Making
Author information	Role
Nayen Lee, Arizona State University, United States	Presenting author
Sarah Nesbit, Arizona State University, United States	Non-presenting author
Lily Gosar, Arizona State University, United States	Non-presenting author
Kelsey Lucca, Arizona State University, United States	Non-presenting author
Abstract
Young children have different levels of social curiosity – the desire to learn about others. Given that the information children have about others influences their social interactions (Köymen & Engelmann, 2022), social curiosity may play a crucial role in decision-making regarding their interpersonal relationships. However, little research has investigated its impact on how children navigate their social interactions. To address this gap, the current study examined whether state social curiosity (a momentary interest in others) is malleable and whether it interacts with trait social curiosity (a stable disposition of being interested in others) to increase children’s prosocial decision-making across two experimental studies. In Study 1, 96 typically developing children participated (M=7 years) in a local children’s museum in the US. Children were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions of the “Social Uncertainty Paradigm (SUP)”: Social Curiosity (SC), General Curiosity (GC), or No Curiosity (NC). Across 10 learning trials, they learned about a new person (Sam) and a new object (Apple House). To elicit social curiosity, the conditions varied in the amount of information about Sam. Children in the SC condition were provided the least information about Sam, children in the GC condition had the most, and children in the NC in the middle (Figure 1). Next, state social curiosity was measured by children’s choice regarding who they want to learn more about (Sam or Apple House) and rating (how much they want to learn about each topic). Children’s trait social curiosity was measured by a caregiver questionnaire (Early Multidimensional Curiosity Scale; Lee et al., 2023). Holding trait social curiosity constant, we found that the probability of choosing Sam (Odds ratio=4.3) and the rating scores of Sam (M=4.4) were significantly higher (ps<.001) in the SC group compared to the GC (OR=0.2, M=1.9) and the NC groups (OR=0.7, M=3.1). In Study 2, a new sample of children (N=82, Target N=96, M=7 years) completed the SUP after being assigned to one of the experimental conditions as in Study 1. Next, they additionally completed a sharing task where they decided how to allocate stickers between themselves and Sam across five rounds. In each round, they were given two pre-allocated options: a pro-social option (maximizing Sam's gain) and a self-interest option (maximizing the child’s gain). We found that the SUP elicited social curiosity, replicating Study 1 (OR=3.3, M=4.2, Figure 2A). Next, we tested the impacts of state curiosity induced by the SUP on children’s prosocial sharing. A significant interaction emerged (F(73)=4.2, p=.001, Figure 2B): children with low trait social curiosity in the SC condition shared more stickers than children with low trait social curiosity in the GC and NC conditions. In contrast, children with higher levels of trait social curiosity had similar levels of sharing across conditions. These findings suggest that children’s social curiosity is malleable and increasing it may enhance prosociality when children have relatively low trait social curiosity. Our study provides a nuanced understanding of social curiosity and highlights how we can leverage this knowledge to help them navigate the complex social world.

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