The role of event rate, temporal expectancy, and sensory modality in continuous performance of children and adults

Abstract

This study explored developmental differences in the effects of event rate, temporal expectancy, and sensory modality on continuous performance. Children (ages 7-8 years) and college-aged adults completed visual and auditory continuous performance tasks (CPTs) that were equated at an intermediate (20 events/min) rate using the perceptual sensitivity index (d') and then were compared at faster (40 events/min) and slower (10 events/min) rates to determine the influence of event rate on continuous performance of children and adults. To investigate the effects of temporal expectancy, 20% of the critical signals and neutral events occurred early or late relative to the regular rhythm of the task. The findings (a) suggest that event rate influences continuous performance differently for children and adults, (b) highlight the role of temporal expectancy in continuous performance, and (c) reveal differences in the effects of event rate and temporal expectancy on visual and auditory continuous performance.