The influence of temperament and sex on inhibitory control games: reward strategies

Early childhood is a key period for the development of self-regulation skills. Inhibitory control is one of the self-regulation skills that are necessary in academic and social contexts to achieve better results. Studies have shown that older children's inhibitory control improves when a reward is presented. However, types of rewards and individual differences have never been fully investigated in a controlled situation. 149 children aged 4 to 5 years from a low socioeconomical background were assessed to measure inhibitory control (IC) in two different conditions embedded in a tablet game: IC with a predictive reward and IC with a non-predictive reward. Additionally, a measure reported by parents on their children's temperament was analysed. Results showed that (1) inhibition was higher in the predictive condition, (2) girls performed better than boys in both inhibition games, and (3) boys, whose temperament is characterised by a higher level of sociability had a better performance in the non-predictive reward condition. Moreover, boys whose temperament is characterised by a high energy level have poorer performance in the same task. In educational terms, having more background in the subject of rewards can allow more appropriate planning according to the objective, temperament characteristics and sex of the children.