An important aspect of executive functioning is the ability to flexibly switch between behavioral rules. This study explored how considering the multidimensionality of objects affects behavioral rule switching in 3-yearold children. In Study 1 (N = 40), children who participated in a brief game separating and aggregating an object's dimensions (i.e., color and shape) showed improved performance on the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS), a measure of behavioral rule switching, relative to controls. In Study 2 (N = 80) DCCS performance improved even when the initial practice involved a different dimension (pattern and shape). Thus, practice thinking about multidimensionality can affect 3-year-olds' DCCS performance and therefore may play an important role in the development of flexible thinking.
Rule-Based AccountsRule-based accounts hypothesize that young preschoolers' failures in correct postswitch sorting We thank the many caregivers and children who participated in this study. We are grateful to the research assistants from the Early Experience Laboratory at Queen's University for their help with data entry and coding. We also thank J Bruce Morton for his feedback on this work, and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and constructive remarks.
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