Ejs. Sonugabarke et al., HYPERACTIVITY AND DELAY AVERSION .3. THE EFFECT ON COGNITIVE-STYLE OFIMPOSING DELAY AFTER ERRORS, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry and allied disciplines, 37(2), 1996, pp. 189-194
The claim that impulsiveness associated with hyperactivity is the resu
lt of deficits in inhibition of responses over time was examined. The
cognitive style of hyperactive children was studied under two conditio
ns. As in previous studies hyperactive children appeared impulsive (i.
e, gave shorter latencies and made more errors than controls) under co
nditions where this style led to shorter trials. In contrast, in a rev
ised condition where each error led to an enforced/fixed trial length,
hyperactive children waited as long as controls before responding, bu
t still made more errors. Hyperactive children withheld responses when
this offered them the best chance of avoiding extra delay. They were
however, unable to use the extra time provided as effectively as contr
ols. The link between hyperactive children's aversion to delay and the
ir poor use of time is discussed.