Development of Decision Making in School-Aged Children and Adolescents: Evidence From Heart Rate and Skin Conductance Analysis

• Published in: Child development Vol. 78; no. 4; pp. 1288 - 1301
• Main Authors: Crone, Eveline A., Van Der Molen, Maurits W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.07.2007; Blackwell Publishers; Blackwell Publishing; Blackwell; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescence; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adults; Age Differences; Age Factors; Age groups; Arousal - physiology; Autonomic Nervous System - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child development; Children; Decision Making; Decision Making - physiology; Developmental psychology; Developmental Stages; Empirical Articles; Empirical research; Evaluation; Family studies; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Galvanic skin response; Galvanic Skin Response - physiology; Gambling; Gambling - psychology; Gender differences; Heart rate; Heart Rate - physiology; Human Body; Humans; Learning; Male; Maturation; Metabolism; Motivation; Older Adults; Overman; Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology; Preadolescents; Prefrontal cortex; Prefrontal Cortex - physiology; Probability Learning; Problem Solving - physiology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Schooling; Human; Heart rate; School age; Decision making; Adolescent; Electrodermography; Electrical conductance; Cognition; Skin; Hemodynamics; Cognitive development; Child
• ISSN: 0009-3920; 1467-8624
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01066.x

Age differences in decision making indicate that children fail to anticipate outcomes of their decisions. Using heart rate and skin conductance analyses, we tested whether developmental changes in decision making are associated with (a) a failure to process outcomes of decisions, or (b) a failure to anticipate future outcomes of decisions. Children aged 8-10, 12-14, and 16-18 years performed the Hungry Donkey task, a child version of the Iowa Gambling Task, while heart rate and skin conductance activity were continuously recorded. Children aged 16-18 learned to make advantageous choices over task blocks faster than the two younger age groups. Age differences were present for anticipation-related autonomic activity but not outcome-related autonomic activity. The results are interpreted vis-à-vis models of prefrontal cortex maturation.