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St Andrews, Scotland – A new study led by researchers at the University of St Andrews has revealed that children perform cognitive tasks more quickly when working alone compared to when an unfamiliar adult is present. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, highlight the potential impact of social context on cognitive control development in children.
Cognitive control, a crucial factor in academic success and overall life outcomes, enables individuals to focus, adapt, and manage their attention during tasks. Despite growing research in this field, little was previously known about whether the presence of another person could influence how children engage in cognitive learning and problem-solving.
Traditionally, an adult is present during cognitive testing in developmental research to ensure that children understand the instructions and to provide guidance if necessary. However, this new study suggests that adult presence, even without interaction, can slow down a child’s cognitive responses—particularly when tasks demand heightened attention.
Study Findings
The research team, in collaboration with Tsinghua University, Clermont-Auvergne University, and the University of Fribourg, examined children aged 4–5 and 8–9 years. The children were asked to complete a well-established cognitive task under two different conditions: one group worked alone, while another performed the same tasks with an unfamiliar adult present in the room.
The results showed that children were slower to respond when an adult was nearby, with younger children displaying the most pronounced effect. The study provides new insights into how subtle social influences can affect cognitive performance in children and aligns with ongoing efforts to refine developmental research methodologies.
Implications and Future Research
These findings have significant implications for both educational environments and psychological research settings. They suggest that understanding individual differences, such as a child’s personality, learning preferences, and prior experiences, could be key in optimizing cognitive performance.
Lead researcher Dr. Aurélien Frick, from the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, commented on the importance of the study, stating: “The research question of this study was trivial: Does it matter whether or not I’m in the room with the children during psychological research? The simple and short answer coming from this study is yes. However, what underlies this and what the role of individual differences is on this effect remains an open but exciting question for future studies.”
Further investigations will be necessary to determine the underlying mechanisms driving this effect and whether different social dynamics, such as familiarity with the supervising adult, could alter the results. In the long run, this research could help identify optimal environments for childhood learning and refine experimental designs in cognitive studies.
Disclaimer
This article is based on findings from the research study published in Scientific Reports. The conclusions drawn are subject to further validation through continued research. Readers are advised to consider these findings within the broader context of ongoing studies in child psychology and cognitive science.
More Information: Aurélien Frick et al., The effects of an unfamiliar experimenter on proactive and reactive control in children, Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-89193-9
