Inhibitory control and counterintuitive science and maths reasoning in adolescence.

ABSTRACT: Existing concepts can be a major barrier to learning new counterintuitive concepts that contradict pre-existing experience-based beliefs or misleading perceptual cues. When reasoning about counterintuitive concepts, inhibitory control is thought to enable the suppression of incorrect concepts. This study investigated the association between inhibitory control and counterintuitive science and maths reasoning in adolescents (N = 90, 11-15 years). Both response and semantic inhibition were associated with counterintuitive science and maths reasoning, when controlling for age, general cognitive ability, and performance in control science and maths trials. Better response inhibition was associated with longer reaction times in counterintuitive trials, while better semantic inhibition was associ

SUBMITTER: Brookman-Byrne A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6013119 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature