Psychologists are particularly interested in the development of cognitive control in children. It is known that well-developed cognitive control is linked to academic success, health and - surprisingly - even later income. Pupils regularly use this ability in everyday school life, for example when they suppress impulses and wait patiently for their turn to speak instead of simply taking the floor.
Given the importance of cognitive control, researchers have long wanted to develop a method to improve performance, particularly in children who show weaknesses in this area. So far, however, the results have been mixed. ’This is why we decided to investigate the influence of the social and cultural environment on cognitive engagement,’ explains Valérie Camos, Professor at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Fribourg.
The role of the social context
Research in this area is not new: as early as 1904, the psychologist F. H. Allport found that children aged 8 to 14 read and do maths better when they work in groups rather than alone - a phenomenon known as ’social facilitation’.In adults, psychologists have shown that the presence of other people improves performance on simple tasks, while it can have a negative effect on more complex tasks with higher cognitive demands.
But what about children of pre-school and school age? Can their performance be influenced by the mere presence of an unknown person - in an exam situation, for example? This question was investigated in a study published in the journal Scientific Reports on February 18, 2025.
Experiment in China
The experiment took place in Beijing - the city to which Aurélien Frick, the first author of the study, originally wanted to travel for his postdoctoral studies, but was prevented from doing so by the Covid-19 pandemic. Chinese students carried out the study instead. The study examined 123 children, who were divided into two age groups (4-5 years and 8-9 years). They completed a series of cognitive tests under two different conditions: In one variation, they were alone in the room; in the other, there was an adult who observed them 60% of the time - a standard procedure in social presence studies.’We were able to observe that the presence of an adult alone lengthened reaction times - particularly clearly in the case of 4 to 5-year-olds,’ explains Valérie Camos. However, the presence of the observer did not affect the quality of the responses - neither for the younger nor the older children.
The research team suspects that the mere presence of an unfamiliar person places a strain on certain cognitive resources in children - particularly those required for forward thinking and reflection. ’This presence disrupts what is known as proactive control - the ability to think about the best response in advance,’ explains Camos. Especially in younger children, the stranger seems to take up part of their attention, which reduces their ability to actively retain relevant information in their working memory.
