children’s performance was significantly more
disrupted by the reversal than adults and FRN amplitudes were significantly modulated
by the reversal phase in children but not adults. These findings indicate that children have
specific difficulties with reinforcementlearning when acquired behaviours must be altered.
This may be caused by the added demands on immature executive functioning, specifically
response monitoring, created by the requirement to reverse the associations, or a developmental
difference in the way in which children and adults approach reinforcementlearning.