Intraindividual variability is a developmental marker of cool, hot-positive, and hot-negative inhibitory control

The present study used a novel, well-controlled paradigm to investigate the development of cool, hot-positive, and hot-negative inhibitory control in a sample of children (6- to 11-year-old; N = 38, 21 females), adolescents (12- to 18-year-old; N = 38, 24 females), and adults (19- to 38-year-old; N = 38, 28 females; sample location: United Kingdom). An ex-Gaussian approach was employed on stop signal task data to distinctly examine for the first time how mean and intraindividual variability measures of inhibitory control are modulated at different time spans of development and neutral and socioaffective contexts. Results show a combination of adolescent-emergent, adolescent-specific, and adult-emergent patterns for distinct ex-Gaussian measures of cool, hot-positive, and hot-negative inhibition performance, suggesting a much more complex account of inhibitory control development than previously believed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Audiology · Cognition · Developmental psychology · Inhibitory control · Inhibitory postsynaptic potential · MEDLINE · PsycINFO · Response inhibition · Chemistry · Cognitive Abilities and Testing · Medicine · Mental Health Research Topics · Neuroscience · Psychology