Inhibition and behavioral self-regulation: An inextricably linked couple in preschool years

A modified version of the flanker task was used to investigate how children deal with increasing inhibitory control demands. Additional variables such as age, cue salience and behavioral regulation were also considered in the present research. Preschoolers and first graders alike, showed a performance decline once inhibitory control demands increased. When taking behavioral regulation skills into account, an age-related interaction effect was found: Compared to their peers with high behavioral regulation skills, preschoolers with low to moderate behavioral regulation skills showed a weaker performance when faced with increased inhibitory control demands. No such effects were found for first graders. The results suggest that in particular in preschool years inhibition and behavioral regulation are highly intertwined